Do I ship it?

GamesOpen World Survival CraftOpen World Survival Craft + Procedural Generation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Procedural Generation Open World Survival Craft?

Open World Survival Craft + Procedural Generation

Of 31 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation Open World Survival Craft 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.. 95 more are announced, ×6.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $77k, ×57 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $4.4M, ×3303 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 95 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 57.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 95 announced, ×6.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World Survival Craft + Procedural Generation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $28k → $3.7k → $181k → $21k → $1.4M → $40k → $116k (still earning) → $96k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World Survival Craft + Procedural Generation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $3.0k (exactly $2,997)
Median $77k (exactly $77,219)
Top 25% $307k (exactly $307,046)
Top 5% $4.4M (exactly $4,449,470)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 102
Announced 95
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $13.99

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 55% on the market, supply 20% fewer 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Open World Survival Craft
effort 9 / 10 · low · dedicated multiplayer servers over a huge content build
Procedural Generation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Open World Survival Craft, Procedural Generation; all of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Crafting, Exploration
Price point
$13.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $13.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 42,437 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.0k, median $77k, 1 in 4 over $300k, 1 in 20 over $4.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 5 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 95 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Open World Survival Craft with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair28 devs · median $307k · 37 announced
  2. + Co-opPoor odds58 devs · median $515k · 127 announced
  3. + Online Co-OpPoor odds72 devs · median $217k · 139 announced
  4. + Immersive SimPoor odds14 devs · median $183k · 37 announced
  5. + PhysicsPoor odds8 devs · median $183k · 27 announced
  6. + Colony SimPoor odds11 devs · median $170k · 25 announced
  7. + MedievalPoor odds13 devs · median $154k · 37 announced
  8. + ShooterPoor odds25 devs · median $139k · 45 announced
  9. + PvPPoor odds22 devs · median $125k · 56 announced
  10. + Sci-fiPoor odds32 devs · median $124k · 76 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds34 devs · median $116k · 60 announced
  12. + RPGPoor odds76 devs · median $96k · 165 announced

All 54 pairs on the Open World Survival Craft page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
No Man's Sky older $59.99 315,054 83% 9.5M $567M (exactly $567,002,684) Hello Games
7 Days to Die older $44.99 273,589 87% 8.2M $369M (exactly $369,263,073) The Fun Pimps
Core Keeper older $19.99 50,066 92% 1.5M $30M (exactly $30,024,580) Pugstorm
Stoneshard · EA older $24.99 34,149 74% 1.0M $26M (exactly $25,601,505) Ink Stains Games
Nightingale · EA older $29.99 15,338 66% 460k $14M (exactly $13,799,599) Inflexion Games
Tribes of Midgard older $19.99 17,465 76% 524k $10M (exactly $10,473,760) Norsfell
MISERY $12.99 20,015 85% 600k $7.8M (exactly $7,799,846) Platypus Entertainment
The Survivalists older $24.99 8,116 76% 243k $6.1M (exactly $6,084,565) Team17
Len's Island $24.99 5,935 82% 178k $4.4M (exactly $4,449,470) Flow Studio
Rising World · EA older $14.99 5,310 85% 159k $2.4M (exactly $2,387,907) JIW-Games
Romestead · EA $13.99 4,660 76% 140k $2.0M (exactly $1,955,802) Beartwigs
Cubic Odyssey $24.99 2,406 74% 72k $1.8M (exactly $1,803,778) Atypical Games
BitCraft Online · EA $15.99 3,334 72% 100k $1.6M (exactly $1,599,320) Clockwork Laboratories, Inc.
Survivalist: Invisible Strain $11.99 4,014 87% 120k $1.4M (exactly $1,443,836) Bob
Beyond the Map · EA $19.99 764 77% 23k $458k (exactly $458,171) Glitch Goblins
Space Trash Scavenger $19.99 512 82% 15k $307k (exactly $307,046) SquarePlay Games
CleanFall · EA $19.99 492 92% 15k $295k (exactly $295,052) Humanyoyo
Primitier $19.99 305 94% 9.2k $183k (exactly $182,908) Ota Mato

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