Games › Space Sim › Space Sim + Robots
Should I ship a Robot Space Sim?
Space Sim + Robots
Only 17 developers shipped a Robot Space Sim 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, Mars First Logistics, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 42 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $240, ×0.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 42 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper, while revenue is up 575% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $239 (exactly $239) |
| Top 25% | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) |
| Top 5% | $2.1M (exactly $2,097,151) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 72 |
| Announced | 42 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 575% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Space Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sandbox, Simulation, Base Building
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 4,693 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Space Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DestructionFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
- + WarFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + SportsFair
- + DiplomacyLong shot
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Strategy RPGPoor odds
- + SandboxPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
Comparable games
Starbase 2021 · EA · $6.5M 
PULSAR: Lost Colony 2021 · $2.6M 
Mars First Logistics 2025 · $2.1M 
First Class Trouble 2021 · $1.4M 
Executive Assault 2 2023 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Starbase | · EA older | $34.99 | 6,217 56% | 187k | $6.5M (exactly $6,525,985) | Frozenbyte |
| | PULSAR: Lost Colony | older | $19.99 | 4,409 89% | 132k | $2.6M (exactly $2,644,077) | Leafy Games |
| | Mars First Logistics | $19.99 | 3,497 94% | 105k | $2.1M (exactly $2,097,151) | Shape Shop | |
| | First Class Trouble | older | $14.99 | 3,103 79% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,395,419) | Invisible Walls |
| | Executive Assault 2 | older | $24.99 | 1,604 82% | 48k | $1.2M (exactly $1,202,519) | Hesketh Studios Ltd |
 | Nimbatus - The Space Drone Constructor | older | $19.99 | 1,758 78% | 53k | $1.1M (exactly $1,054,273) | Stray Fawn Studio |
 | Rebel Galaxy Outlaw | older | $29.99 | 942 65% | 28k | $848k (exactly $847,517) | Double Damage Games |
 | Blossom: The Seed of Life | $16.99 | 1,011 88% | 30k | $515k (exactly $515,307) | Pebbledust Games | |
 | Final Upgrade | older | $19.99 | 437 75% | 13k | $262k (exactly $262,069) | TaosX |
 | Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut | older | $9.99 | 363 82% | 11k | $109k (exactly $108,791) | Born Ready Games |
 | Endless Dark | $7.99 | 115 99% | 3.5k | $28k (exactly $27,566) | Little Light Studios, LLC | |
 | Rebots | $14.99 | 41 70% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $18,438) | FlatPonies | |
 | RoboDeal Simulator | $3.99 | 13 92% | 390 | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) | Dual Cluster Studios | |
 | Terraspace | $7.99 | 5 20% | 150 | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) | Black Apple | |
 | Red Siren: Space Defense | $14.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $899 (exactly $899) | ISTOM Games | |
 | UNIT 42: Adrift in Space | · EA | $4.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | AwitaGames |
 | Nebula Strike | $3.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $239 (exactly $239) | 杨羽灰 | |
 | Command Reboot | $6.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $210 (exactly $210) | 厦门必虎网络科技有限公司 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.