Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Score Attack game?

PvE + Score Attack

Of 285 developers who shipped a PvE Score Attack 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.. 348 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 174 developers shipped in the last year and 348 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 348 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 285
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $539 → $1.3k → $299 → $299 → $598 → $299 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 285
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 5% $61k (exactly $61,438)
Developers, 2 yr 285
Released games 631
Announced 348
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 80% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
PvE, Score Attack; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 80,673 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $61k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 130 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 348 games are announced against 174 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor 2025 · $18M Dead as Disco 2026 · EA · $9.3M White Knuckle 2025 · EA · $6.8M Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 2025 · $5.2M Element TD 2 - Tower Defense 2021 · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor $12.99 46,354 86% 1.4M $18M (exactly $18,064,154) Funday Games
Dead as Disco · EA $24.99 12,354 96% 371k $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) Brain Jar Games, Inc.
White Knuckle · EA $16.99 13,356 98% 401k $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) Dark Machine Games
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 $59.99 2,879 83% 86k $5.2M (exactly $5,181,336) CyberConnect2
Element TD 2 - Tower Defense older $14.99 2,848 90% 85k $1.3M (exactly $1,280,746) Element Studios
Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection older $29.99 1,306 74% 39k $1.2M (exactly $1,175,008) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Revita older $16.99 1,734 83% 52k $884k (exactly $883,820) BenStar
Glyphica: Typing Survival · EA $9.99 2,488 90% 75k $746k (exactly $745,654) aliasBLACK
Big Helmet Heroes $24.99 678 78% 20k $508k (exactly $508,297) Exalted Studio
Asterix & Obelix XXL: Romastered older $19.99 708 78% 21k $425k (exactly $424,588) OSome Studio
Axon TD: Uprising - Tower Defense $19.99 706 85% 21k $423k (exactly $423,388) Element Studios
Funguys Swarm $9.99 1,114 89% 33k $334k (exactly $333,866) Stairway Games
Double Dragon Revive $34.99 157 63% 4.7k $165k (exactly $164,803) YUKE’S
Poly TD $7.99 587 82% 18k $141k (exactly $140,704) Naroot

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