Should I ship a PvP Space Sim?
PvP + Space Sim
Of 20 developers who shipped a PvP Space Sim 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.. 69 more are announced, ×4.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180. 69 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.9 per shipper, while revenue is down 85% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $73k (exactly $73,379) |
| Top 5% | $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 106 |
| Announced | 69 |
| Effort | 8 / 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 85% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 27%, 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, Space Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Action, Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 13,410 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different second tag, 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
Space Engineers 2019 · $60M 
STAR WARS™: Squadrons 2020 · $30M 
Empyrion - Galactic Survival 2020 · $18M 
Marauders 2022 · EA · $12M 
Wildgate 2025 · $4.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 |
| | Wildgate | $29.99 | 5,032 77% | 151k | $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) | Moonshot Games | |
 | Star Trek: Infinite | older | $29.99 | 3,030 41% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,726,091) | Nimble Giant Entertainment |
 | 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 | |
 | Tower! Simulator 3 | older | $59.99 | 1,047 67% | 31k | $1.9M (exactly $1,884,286) | FeelThere |
 | ERA ONE | · EA | $29.99 | 1,575 86% | 47k | $1.4M (exactly $1,417,028) | Team Complex LTD |
 | Outlive 25 | $11.99 | 204 93% | 6.1k | $73k (exactly $73,379) | Continuum Entertainment | |
 | In The Black | · EA | $19.99 | 84 72% | 2.5k | $50k (exactly $50,375) | Impeller Studios |
 | Deep Dark Forest | $7.99 | 41 87% | 1.2k | $9.8k (exactly $9,828) | pixiangames | |
 | SpaceCraft Brawl | $4.99 | 17 94% | 510 | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) | ruploz | |
 | Arvoch Alliance SE | $14.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | StarWraith 3D Games LLC | |
 | Stellar Odyssey | · EA | $14.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $899 (exactly $899) | Warp Studios Pty Ltd |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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