Do I ship it?

GamesSandboxSandbox + Multiple Endings

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Multiple Endings Sandbox?

Sandbox + Multiple Endings

Of 100 developers who shipped a Multiple Endings Sandbox in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 173 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $850k, ×1362 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 173 games are announced against 56 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 173 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sandbox + Multiple Endings
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 100
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $234k → $27k → $34k → $5.8k → $2.0k → $1.0k → $3.5k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sandbox + Multiple Endings: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 100
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $23,077)
Top 5% $856k (exactly $855,615)
Developers, 2 yr 100
Released games 235
Announced 173
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 80% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Sandbox
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Multiple Endings
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Sandbox, Multiple Endings; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Choices Matter, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 23,253 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $850k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 50 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 173 games are announced against 56 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FightingStrong odds11 devs · median $76k · 8 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair20 devs · median $224k · 19 announced
  3. + World War IIFair14 devs · median $146k · 13 announced
  4. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $17k · 12 announced
  5. + ProgrammingFair60 devs · median $7.0k · 71 announced
  6. + CatsFair63 devs · median $4.8k · 74 announced
  7. + SportsFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  8. + GamblingFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 31 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 42 announced
  10. + Combat RacingFair21 devs · median $1.8k · 26 announced
  11. + Trading Card GameFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  12. + IdlerFair258 devs · median $1.2k · 306 announced

All 233 pairs on the Sandbox page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition older $49.99 823,357 96% 25M $1.2B (exactly $1,234,788,493) CD PROJEKT RED
Anno 1800 older $59.99 29,854 81% 896k $54M (exactly $53,728,244) Ubisoft Mainz
OCTOPATH TRAVELER™ older $59.99 13,923 85% 418k $25M (exactly $25,057,223) Square Enix, ACQUIRE Corp.
Hero's Adventure: Road to Passion older $17.99 22,287 84% 669k $12M (exactly $12,028,294) 半瓶醋工作室(Half Amateur Studio)
House Party older $24.99 13,968 85% 419k $10M (exactly $10,471,810) Eek! Games, LLC
Bugsnax older $24.99 8,673 97% 260k $6.5M (exactly $6,502,148) Young Horses
下一站江湖Ⅱ older $24.99 8,507 72% 255k $6.4M (exactly $6,377,698) 白玉京工作室
河洛群俠傳 (Ho Tu Lo Shu : The Books of Dragon) older $17.99 9,616 81% 288k $5.2M (exactly $5,189,755) 香港商河洛互動娛樂股份有限公司
Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game older $9.99 16,722 95% 502k $5.0M (exactly $5,011,583) Interplay Inc.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster $49.99 2,971 80% 89k $4.5M (exactly $4,455,609) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Cash Cleaner Simulator $19.99 7,334 92% 220k $4.4M (exactly $4,398,200) Mind Control Games
Beast Saga $20.99 2,714 80% 81k $1.7M (exactly $1,709,006) 嘉兴黑曜石(Jiaxing Obsidian)
Matchmaking Inc. $8.99 5,773 87% 173k $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) Wave Games
Agefield High: Rock the School $29.99 951 36% 29k $856k (exactly $855,615) Refugium Games
Destiny of Immortal · EA $11.99 1,763 80% 53k $634k (exactly $634,151) LeiYun Games
Medieval Blacksmith $19.99 591 79% 18k $354k (exactly $354,423) OGO Play
Under The Island $19.99 446 92% 13k $267k (exactly $267,466) Slime King Games
MMA Life Simulator $16.99 435 80% 13k $222k (exactly $221,719) BNS7
GlitchSPANKR $19.99 275 96% 8.3k $165k (exactly $164,918) Mahelyk, TheClassifiedX

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.