Should I ship a Science PvE game?
PvE + Science
Of 35 developers who shipped a Science 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.. 68 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $10M, ×16491 the market median. Revenue is up 440% on the market; 68 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $30 (exactly $30) |
|---|---|
| Median | $897 (exactly $897) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,196) |
| Top 5% | $10M (exactly $10,356,447) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 35 |
| Released games | 107 |
| Announced | 68 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 440% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 22%, 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 Simulation, Sandbox, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 58,510 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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
The Outlast Trials 2024 · $109M 
ICARUS 2021 · $59M 
Abiotic Factor 2025 · $44M 
WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition 2025 · $10M 
Star Trek: Infinite 2023 · $2.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Outlast Trials | older | $39.99 | 90,997 92% | 2.7M | $109M (exactly $109,169,101) | Red Barrels |
| | ICARUS | older | $34.99 | 55,849 75% | 1.7M | $59M (exactly $58,624,695) | RocketWerkz |
| | Abiotic Factor | $34.99 | 42,075 95% | 1.3M | $44M (exactly $44,166,128) | Deep Field Games | |
| | WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition | $29.99 | 11,511 97% | 345k | $10M (exactly $10,356,447) | eduweb | |
| | Star Trek: Infinite | older | $29.99 | 3,030 41% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,726,091) | Nimble Giant Entertainment |
 | Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1 | older | $39.99 | 1,290 87% | 39k | $1.5M (exactly $1,547,613) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | WolfQuest: Classic | $29.99 | 1,401 90% | 42k | $1.3M (exactly $1,260,480) | eduweb | |
 | METAL EDEN | $19.99 | 1,920 84% | 58k | $1.2M (exactly $1,151,424) | Reikon Games | |
 | Solar Expanse - Space Exploration Manager | · EA | $17.99 | 1,252 87% | 38k | $676k (exactly $675,704) | SpaceOps |
 | Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 2 | older | $39.99 | 521 87% | 16k | $625k (exactly $625,044) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | The Bibites: Digital Life | · EA | $9.99 | 218 96% | 6.5k | $65k (exactly $65,335) | Omnia Studios |
 | Possible One: Lunar Industries | · EA | $24.99 | 53 64% | 1.6k | $40k (exactly $39,734) | Upstairs Games |
 | C.A.R.S. - Creating A Ridiculous Shitshow | $7.99 | 40 97% | 1.2k | $9.6k (exactly $9,588) | 3Dads Studios | |
 | COLLAPSE COMPANY | · EA | $8.99 | 28 89% | 840 | $7.6k (exactly $7,552) | VOLT-TECKS GAME STUDIO |
 | Typhon: Bot vs Bot | · EA | $19.99 | 12 75% | 360 | $7.2k (exactly $7,196) | Brightshade Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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