Should I ship a Space PvP game?
PvP + Space
Of 115 developers who shipped a Space PvP 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.. 288 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 288 games are announced against 73 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper, while revenue is down 10% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) |
| Top 5% | $916k (exactly $915,883) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 115 |
| Released games | 490 |
| Announced | 288 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.00 |
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 10% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 30%, 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
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Co-op, Action
- Price point
- $7.00 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.00.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 34,678 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 61 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 288 games are announced against 73 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 | older | $59.99 | 168,628 84% | 5.1M | $303M (exactly $303,479,812) | Saber Interactive |
| | STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II | older | $39.99 | 87,494 88% | 2.6M | $105M (exactly $104,966,552) | DICE |
| | Among Us | older | $4.99 | 659,003 92% | 20M | $99M (exactly $98,652,749) | Innersloth |
| | Space Engineers | older | $19.99 | 100,533 89% | 3.0M | $60M (exactly $60,289,640) | Keen Software House |
| | STAR WARS™: Squadrons | older | $39.99 | 25,086 66% | 753k | $30M (exactly $30,095,674) | MOTIVE |
| | Empyrion - Galactic Survival | older | $19.99 | 29,204 78% | 876k | $18M (exactly $17,513,639) | Eleon Game Studios |
| | Marauders | · EA older | $29.99 | 13,505 68% | 405k | $12M (exactly $12,150,448) | Small Impact Games |
| | Sins of a Solar Empire II | older | $49.99 | 7,147 83% | 214k | $11M (exactly $10,718,356) | Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock En… (Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment) |
| | Planetary Annihilation: TITANS | older | $29.99 | 11,401 84% | 342k | $10M (exactly $10,257,480) | Planetary Annihilation Inc |
| | Galactic Civilizations III | older | $29.99 | 8,337 77% | 250k | $7.5M (exactly $7,500,799) | Stardock Entertainment |
| | LOCKDOWN Protocol | $9.99 | 16,605 86% | 498k | $5.0M (exactly $4,976,518) | Mirage Creative Lab | |
| | Wildgate | $29.99 | 5,032 77% | 151k | $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) | Moonshot Games | |
| | SpaceCraft | · EA | $29.99 | 2,616 64% | 78k | $2.4M (exactly $2,353,615) | Shiro Games |
| | Angels Fall First | $17.99 | 3,835 81% | 115k | $2.1M (exactly $2,069,749) | Strangely Interactive Ltd | |
| | ERA ONE | · EA | $29.99 | 1,575 86% | 47k | $1.4M (exactly $1,417,028) | Team Complex LTD |
| | Among Us 3D | $9.99 | 3,056 72% | 92k | $916k (exactly $915,883) | Schell Games, Innersloth | |
| | Down with the Ship | · EA | $14.99 | 817 93% | 25k | $367k (exactly $367,405) | Iron Anchor Games |
| | Solar Nations 2 | · EA | $14.99 | 609 85% | 18k | $274k (exactly $273,867) | Flomgus Games |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior (Classic) | $9.99 | 439 74% | 13k | $132k (exactly $131,568) | Kuju Entertainment | |
| | Monopoly: Star Wars™ Heroes vs. Villains | $29.99 | 94 39% | 2.8k | $85k (exactly $84,572) | Behaviour Interactive Inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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