Should I ship a Mythological PvE game?
PvE + Mythology
Of 67 developers who shipped a Mythological PvE game 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.. 197 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $52k, ×84 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 197 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,079) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,195) |
| Top 5% | $53k (exactly $52,615) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 67 |
| Released games | 185 |
| Announced | 197 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 20% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 24%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Roguelite
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Stylized, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 487,560 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 42 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 197 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
Valheim 2026 · $418M 
God of War 2022 · $195M 
Age of Mythology: Retold 2024 · $19M 
Soulmask 2026 · $17M 
Strange Brigade 2018 · $12M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Valheim | $29.99 | 464,893 94% | 14M | $418M (exactly $418,264,232) | Iron Gate AB | |
| | God of War | older | $49.99 | 129,712 95% | 3.9M | $195M (exactly $194,529,086) | Santa Monica Studio, Jetpack Interactive |
| | Age of Mythology: Retold | older | $29.99 | 20,943 90% | 628k | $19M (exactly $18,842,417) | World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantal… (World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, CaptureAge, Virtuos Games) |
| | Soulmask | $29.99 | 18,445 76% | 553k | $17M (exactly $16,594,966) | CampFire Studio | |
| | Strange Brigade | older | $49.99 | 8,309 84% | 249k | $12M (exactly $12,461,007) | Rebellion |
 | Tribes of Midgard | older | $19.99 | 17,465 76% | 524k | $10M (exactly $10,473,760) | Norsfell |
 | King Arthur: Knight's Tale | older | $44.99 | 6,722 83% | 202k | $9.1M (exactly $9,072,683) | NeocoreGames |
 | Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy | $49.99 | 3,558 92% | 107k | $5.3M (exactly $5,335,933) | Asobo Studio | |
 | Dawn of Defiance | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,734 77% | 52k | $1.0M (exactly $1,039,880) | Traega Entertainment |
 | Godsworn | · EA older | $29.99 | 805 93% | 24k | $724k (exactly $724,258) | Thunderoak Interactive |
 | Duriano | $14.99 | 117 95% | 3.5k | $53k (exactly $52,615) | Adisoft Gaming Co.,Ltd. | |
 | Ash & Rust | $19.99 | 85 63% | 2.6k | $51k (exactly $50,974) | Ash and Rust Studios | |
 | Masks of the Void: Origins | $14.99 | 108 97% | 3.2k | $49k (exactly $48,568) | ROLLDBOX GAMES | |
 | Vilde | $15.99 | 87 74% | 2.6k | $42k (exactly $41,734) | Chaotic Minds | |
 | IZON. | $12.99 | 44 95% | 1.3k | $17k (exactly $17,147) | C&R Creative Studios | |
 | Idle Cultivation | $3.99 | 142 79% | 4.3k | $17k (exactly $16,997) | Linmios | |
 | Versebound | $6.99 | 81 97% | 2.4k | $17k (exactly $16,986) | Conifer Digital |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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