Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot Souls-like?

Souls-like + Robots

Only 12 developers shipped a Robot Souls-like 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, PRAGMATA, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $32k, ×22 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $59M, ×39508 the market median. Revenue is up 315% on the market; 19 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 21.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 315% on the market, 19 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.1k → $9.0k → $578 → $748 → $2.2k → $31k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Median $32k (exactly $32,384)
Top 25% $1.5M (exactly $1,451,874)
Top 5% $59M (exactly $59,183,134)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 51
Announced 19
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $16.99

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 315% on the market, supply 100% 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.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Robots
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like
Price point
$16.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 41,413 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.2k, median $32k, 1 in 4 over $1.4M, 1 in 20 over $59M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.2k. 19 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON™ 2023 · $121M PRAGMATA 2026 · $59M The Surge 2 2019 · $6.7M The Surge 2017 · $4.1M MIO: Memories in Orbit 2026 · $2.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON™ older $59.99 66,987 91% 2.0M $121M (exactly $120,556,504) FromSoftware, Inc.
PRAGMATA $59.99 32,885 96% 987k $59M (exactly $59,183,134) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
The Surge 2 older $29.99 7,477 75% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,727,057) Deck13
The Surge older $14.99 9,161 75% 275k $4.1M (exactly $4,119,702) Deck13
MIO: Memories in Orbit $19.99 4,300 83% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,578,710) Douze Dixièmes
Dolls Nest $19.99 2,421 88% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,451,874) NITRO PLUS
Meta Ghost: Breaking Show $17.99 1,497 72% 45k $808k (exactly $807,931) Scarecrow Studio
NanoApostle older $19.99 1,184 95% 36k $710k (exactly $710,045) 18Light Game Ltd.
Metal Wolf Chaos XD older $24.99 795 83% 24k $596k (exactly $596,012) General Arcade, FromSoftware, Inc
Feudal Alloy older $16.99 858 69% 26k $437k (exactly $437,323) Attu Games
MycoRelic · EA $14.99 166 89% 5.0k $75k (exactly $74,650) Sandy Dingo Games
Robots at Midnight $19.99 54 79% 1.6k $32k (exactly $32,384) Finish Line Games
Maseylia : Echoes of the Past $16.99 61 80% 1.8k $31k (exactly $31,092) Sol Brothers
DREIFRAME $7.99 15 86% 450 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) MrDrone
Redhelm Dynasty $5.99 12 100% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) Tirazis
Resonant Blade $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Wise Wombat Games

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