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Should I ship an Online Co-Op Space Sim?
Online Co-Op + Space Sim
Only 18 developers shipped an Online Co-Op Space Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Void Crew, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 63 more are announced, ×7.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.9k, ×3.3 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $4.9M, ×3290 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 63 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $748 (exactly $748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.9k (exactly $4,947) |
| Top 25% | $45k (exactly $44,795) |
| Top 5% | $4.9M (exactly $4,927,778) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 51 |
| Announced | 63 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 down 85% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Online Co-Op
- effort 8 / 10 · low · netcode, lobbies and state sync across machines
- Space Sim
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, Space Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvE, Co-op
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 13,489 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Bullet HeavenStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + TypingFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Elite Dangerous 2015 · $49M 
STAR WARS™: Squadrons 2020 · $30M 
Cosmoteer: Starship Architect & Commander 2022 · EA · $7.2M 
Sins of a Solar Empire®: Rebellion 2012 · $6.1M 
Void Crew 2024 · $4.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Elite Dangerous | older | $19.99 | 82,399 76% | 2.5M | $49M (exactly $49,414,680) | Frontier Developments |
| | STAR WARS™: Squadrons | older | $39.99 | 25,086 66% | 753k | $30M (exactly $30,095,674) | MOTIVE |
| | Cosmoteer: Starship Architect & Commander | · EA older | $19.99 | 12,013 94% | 360k | $7.2M (exactly $7,204,196) | Walternate Realities |
| | Sins of a Solar Empire®: Rebellion | older | $19.99 | 10,243 93% | 307k | $6.1M (exactly $6,142,727) | Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock En… (Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment) |
| | Void Crew | $24.99 | 6,573 86% | 197k | $4.9M (exactly $4,927,778) | Hutlihut Games | |
 | Wildgate | $29.99 | 5,032 77% | 151k | $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) | Moonshot Games | |
 | PULSAR: Lost Colony | older | $19.99 | 4,409 89% | 132k | $2.6M (exactly $2,644,077) | Leafy Games |
 | ERA ONE | · EA | $29.99 | 1,575 86% | 47k | $1.4M (exactly $1,417,028) | Team Complex LTD |
 | First Class Trouble | older | $14.99 | 3,103 79% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,395,419) | Invisible Walls |
 | Stars End | older | $19.99 | 1,129 63% | 34k | $677k (exactly $677,061) | Reverie World Studios |
 | In The Black | · EA | $19.99 | 84 72% | 2.5k | $50k (exactly $50,375) | Impeller Studios |
 | Warspace 2 | $17.99 | 83 59% | 2.5k | $45k (exactly $44,795) | Magic Game Art | |
 | StarbaseSim | · EA | $16.37 | 46 93% | 1.4k | $23k (exactly $22,591) | AshtorakSimGames |
 | Moon Crashers | $7.99 | 35 62% | 1.1k | $8.4k (exactly $8,390) | Castello Inc | |
 | Galactic Simulator | $4.99 | 46 76% | 1.4k | $6.9k (exactly $6,886) | PcZ Games | |
 | Into the M.A.W. | $14.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $4.9k (exactly $4,947) | Moonrise Studios | |
 | Arvoch Alliance SE | $14.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | StarWraith 3D Games LLC |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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