Should I ship a PvE Trading game?
PvE + Trading
Of 36 developers who shipped a paid PvE Trading 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.. 5 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 141 more are announced, ×5.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $1.6M, ×2605 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 141 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,317) |
| Top 25% | $10k (exactly $10,190) |
| Top 5% | $1.6M (exactly $1,635,655) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 121 |
| Announced | 141 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 down 20% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 48%, 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, Trading; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sandbox, RPG, Base Building
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 57% positive over 7,985 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 141 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different second tag, 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
Sunkenland 2023 · EA · $12M 
Avorion 2020 · $9.7M 
Ghosts of Tabor 2023 · EA · $6.9M 
SpiritVale 2026 · EA · $2.1M 
Starminer 2026 · EA · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sunkenland | · EA older | $19.99 | 20,536 80% | 616k | $12M (exactly $12,315,439) | Vector3 Studio |
| | Avorion | older | $24.99 | 13,001 90% | 390k | $9.7M (exactly $9,746,850) | Boxelware |
| | Ghosts of Tabor | · EA older | $24.99 | 9,140 70% | 274k | $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) | Combat Waffle Studios |
| | SpiritVale | · EA | $14.99 | 4,755 48% | 143k | $2.1M (exactly $2,138,324) | Baikun Interactive |
| | Starminer | · EA | $29.99 | 1,818 72% | 55k | $1.6M (exactly $1,635,655) | CoolAndGoodGames |
 | Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1 | older | $39.99 | 1,290 87% | 39k | $1.5M (exactly $1,547,613) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 2 | older | $39.99 | 521 87% | 16k | $625k (exactly $625,044) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | Stars Reach | · EA | $29.99 | 322 52% | 9.7k | $290k (exactly $289,703) | Playable Worlds, Inc. |
 | Lugh World | · EA | $14.99 | 458 68% | 14k | $206k (exactly $205,963) | Lughsoft |
 | Korea Dynasty (조선메타실록) | · EA older | $23.99 | 267 72% | 8.0k | $192k (exactly $192,160) | Happy Daram Inc. |
 | Pawn Planet | $9.99 | 280 71% | 8.4k | $84k (exactly $83,916) | Gambol Games | |
 | Colony 37 | · EA | $2.99 | 224 95% | 6.7k | $20k (exactly $20,093) | Valen |
 | Globalism | · EA | $29.99 | 17 52% | 510 | $15k (exactly $15,295) | igelanium games |
 | Retail Rivals | $9.99 | 47 97% | 1.4k | $14k (exactly $14,086) | DreamStudios, Madse Studios, Sandstorm… (DreamStudios, Madse Studios, Sandstorm in a Bottle) | |
 | Guilds of Mountgate | · EA | $9.99 | 34 82% | 1.0k | $10k (exactly $10,190) | Beaver Fever Games |
 | Stellar outpost commander | $8.99 | 30 83% | 900 | $8.1k (exactly $8,091) | Kinderril |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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