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Should I ship a Steampunk Open World game?
Open World + Steampunk
Only 15 developers shipped a Steampunk Open World game 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, SAND: Raiders of Sophie, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 61 more are announced, ×5.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $840, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 61 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 per shipper, while revenue is down 95% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $838 (exactly $838) |
| Top 25% | $7.8k (exactly $7,796) |
| Top 5% | $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 15 |
| Released games | 68 |
| Announced | 61 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 300% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Open World
- effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
- Steampunk
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Open World; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Crafting
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 51% positive over 13,390 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 61 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Open World with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WuxiaFair
- + 4 Player LocalFair
- + VampiresFair
- + TrainsFair
- + FMVFair
- + GothicFair
- + MarsFair
- + TanksFair
- + FaithLong shot
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dishonored 2 | older | $29.99 | 42,988 90% | 1.3M | $39M (exactly $38,676,304) | Arkane Studios |
| | Assassin's Creed® Syndicate | older | $29.99 | 31,087 80% | 933k | $28M (exactly $27,968,974) | Ubisoft Quebec, in collaboration with U… (Ubisoft Quebec, in collaboration with Ubisoft Annecy, Bucharest, Kiev, Montreal, Montpellier, Shanghai, Singapore, Sofia, Toronto studios) |
| | Dishonored | older | $9.99 | 67,504 97% | 2.0M | $20M (exactly $20,230,949) | Arkane Studios |
| | Torchlight III | older | $39.99 | 10,401 47% | 312k | $12M (exactly $12,478,080) | Echtra Inc. |
| | Thief | older | $19.99 | 17,389 75% | 522k | $10M (exactly $10,428,183) | Eidos-Montréal, Feral Interactive (Mac) |
| | SAND: Raiders of Sophie | · EA | $24.99 | 12,485 49% | 375k | $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) | Hologryph, TowerHaus |
| | Dishonored®: Death of the Outsider™ | older | $29.99 | 9,801 86% | 294k | $8.8M (exactly $8,817,960) | Arkane Studios |
| | FINAL FANTASY IX | older | $20.99 | 12,447 95% | 373k | $7.8M (exactly $7,837,876) | Square Enix |
| | Styx: Master of Shadows | older | $19.99 | 9,654 83% | 290k | $5.8M (exactly $5,789,504) | Cyanide Studio |
| | Battle Chasers: Nightwar | older | $29.99 | 5,573 87% | 167k | $5.0M (exactly $5,014,028) | Airship Syndicate |
| | Super Mining Mechs | $4.99 | 841 86% | 25k | $126k (exactly $125,898) | Delayed Victory | |
| | The Dawn: Sniper's Way | $24.99 | 18 22% | 540 | $13k (exactly $13,495) | PHOSPHORUS GAMES | |
| | The Wilds of Dacrima: Field Notes from a Poorly Supervised Alchemist and his Unruly Clockwork Companion | $19.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $7.8k (exactly $7,796) | Antler Studios | |
| | Heart of Gaia | $13.99 | 7 57% | 210 | $2.9k (exactly $2,938) | Brokentail Games | |
| | Tinker-World: Arrival at Kedhreon | $6.99 | 10 90% | 300 | $2.1k (exactly $2,097) | From The Cave, TibiSoft | |
| | Mental Hellacious | $13.99 | 4 50% | 120 | $1.7k (exactly $1,679) | MoreNEWttoStudio | |
| | The Soul of Romit | $3.99 | 7 57% | 210 | $838 (exactly $838) | Kleon Studio | |
| | Endless Vine | · EA | $3.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $359 (exactly $359) | Circuit Root |
| | Anyship | $4.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | Schuette Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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