Should I ship a Steampunk PvP game?
PvP + Steampunk
Only 19 developers shipped a Steampunk PvP game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, SAND: Raiders of Sophie, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 36 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $9.3M, ×6248 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 36 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $899 (exactly $899) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) |
| Top 25% | $28k (exactly $27,872) |
| Top 5% | $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 19 |
| Released games | 58 |
| Announced | 36 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 36%, 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 Action, Board Game, Loot
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 51% positive over 14,057 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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
Iron Harvest 2020 · $11M 
SAND: Raiders of Sophie 2026 · EA · $9.4M 
Airships: Conquer the Skies 2018 · $4.6M 
Scythe: Digital Edition 2018 · $1.9M 
Guns of Icarus Online 2012 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Iron Harvest | older | $29.99 | 11,682 74% | 350k | $11M (exactly $10,510,295) | KING Art |
| | SAND: Raiders of Sophie | · EA | $24.99 | 12,485 49% | 375k | $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) | Hologryph, TowerHaus |
| | Airships: Conquer the Skies | older | $24.99 | 6,197 95% | 186k | $4.6M (exactly $4,645,891) | David Stark |
| | Scythe: Digital Edition | older | $19.99 | 3,164 89% | 95k | $1.9M (exactly $1,897,451) | The Knights of Unity |
| | Guns of Icarus Online | older | $4.99 | 8,245 91% | 247k | $1.2M (exactly $1,234,276) | Muse Games |
 | Airship: Kingdoms Adrift | older | $29.99 | 902 75% | 27k | $812k (exactly $811,529) | Revolution Industry |
 | Thick As Thieves | $4.99 | 1,106 65% | 33k | $166k (exactly $165,568) | OtherSide Entertainment | |
 | Airmen | older | $14.99 | 315 76% | 9.5k | $142k (exactly $141,656) | Airborne Games |
 | Sine Mora EX | older | $9.99 | 463 66% | 14k | $139k (exactly $138,761) | Digital Reality, Grasshopper Manufactur… (Digital Reality, Grasshopper Manufacture, Gyroscope Games) |
 | Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age | $19.99 | 145 91% | 4.4k | $87k (exactly $86,956) | Maximum Entertainment | |
 | Barrage | $14.99 | 78 80% | 2.3k | $35k (exactly $35,077) | Cranio Lab | |
 | Neuroshima Hex | $9.99 | 93 72% | 2.8k | $28k (exactly $27,872) | Baked Games | |
 | Blueblood Arena | · EA | $8.99 | 88 96% | 2.6k | $24k (exactly $23,734) | Team Blueblood |
 | Luminaria: Dark Echoes | $9.99 | 30 86% | 900 | $9.0k (exactly $8,991) | Enthariel Games | |
 | War of Wheels | · EA | $14.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | Dreambits Studio |
 | Knuckle Jet | $14.99 | 13 92% | 390 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | Rain Games | |
 | Terra Alia VR: A Multilingual Adventure | $19.99 | 6 66% | 180 | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) | 30 Parallel |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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