Do I ship it?

GamesPhysicsPhysics + Steampunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Steampunk Physics game?

Physics + Steampunk

Only 16 developers shipped a Steampunk Physics 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, IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 38 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $7.9M, ×12680 the market median. Revenue is up 795% on the market; 38 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 795% on the market, 38 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Physics + Steampunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.1k → $150 → $779 → $2.6k (still earning) → $52k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Physics + Steampunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,998)
Top 5% $8.0M (exactly $7,962,817)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 50
Announced 38
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 795% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Physics
effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning
Steampunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Physics
Price point
$7.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 14,127 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $900, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $7.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Physics with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderStrong odds31 devs · median $8.1k · 30 announced
  2. + Dating SimFair28 devs · median $5.9k · 20 announced
  3. + PinballFair62 devs · median $2.5k · 80 announced
  4. + World War IIFair11 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  5. + Mini GolfFair40 devs · median $1.2k · 44 announced
  6. + GolfFair55 devs · median $987 · 59 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair179 devs · median $718 · 230 announced
  8. + IdlerFair142 devs · median $718 · 167 announced
  9. + Hidden ObjectFair162 devs · median $600 · 157 announced
  10. + CatsFair76 devs · median $599 · 101 announced
  11. + Mystery DungeonFair22 devs · median $539 · 20 announced
  12. + BilliardsFair36 devs · median $538 · 32 announced

All 251 pairs on the Physics page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator $19.99 13,278 97% 398k $8.0M (exactly $7,962,817) Nick Nieuwoudt, Dominik Latos
Gloomwood · EA older $19.99 7,495 95% 225k $4.5M (exactly $4,494,752) Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Be… (Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Berens, Thomas Porta)
Railroader · EA older $29.99 3,343 96% 100k $3.0M (exactly $3,007,697) Giraffe Lab LLC
DARQ: Complete Edition older $19.99 3,575 94% 107k $2.1M (exactly $2,143,928) Unfold Games
Teslagrad older $9.99 1,709 83% 51k $512k (exactly $512,187) Rain Games
Ratten Reich $19.99 616 40% 18k $369k (exactly $369,415) METALLADLERSTUDIO
39 Days to Mars older $19.99 243 83% 7.3k $146k (exactly $145,727) It's Anecdotal
Leo’s Fortune - HD Edition older $6.99 430 92% 13k $90k (exactly $90,171) 1337 & Senri AB
Vessel older $4.99 428 89% 13k $64k (exactly $64,072) Strange Loop Games
Cogs older $5.99 310 90% 9.3k $56k (exactly $55,707) Lazy 8 Studios, https://lazy8studios.com
ShipShaper: Falconeer Chronicles · EA $8.99 192 96% 5.8k $52k (exactly $51,782) Tomas Sala
Wings of Aviora · EA $24.99 8 87% 240 $6.0k (exactly $5,998) Stormy XP
MechaCap Arena $7.99 11 90% 330 $2.6k (exactly $2,637) Paraflux Games
BULLACATOR -pusher tank battle- · EA $5.99 10 80% 300 $1.8k (exactly $1,797) mongata,K.K
Mental Hellacious $13.99 4 50% 120 $1.7k (exactly $1,679) MoreNEWttoStudio
Train Trek · EA $14.99 2 100% 60 $899 (exactly $899) Aixceptional
The Great Smog · EA $12.99 2 50% 60 $779 (exactly $779) JFi Games
GYROPIA $4.99 4 100% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Farkas Interactive

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