Should I ship a Science RPG?
RPG + Science
Of 33 developers who shipped a Science RPG 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.. 79 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $2.9M, ×4728 the market median. Revenue is up 130% on the market; 79 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $15,830) |
| Top 5% | $3.0M (exactly $2,969,115) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 107 |
| Announced | 79 |
| 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 130% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, 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
- RPG; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 19,971 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + IdlerFair
- + Boss RushFair
- + SportsFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
Comparable games
Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey 2020 · $12M 
WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition 2025 · $10M 
Starpoint Gemini 2 2014 · $3.2M 
SpaceBourne 2 2025 · $3.0M 
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1 2023 · $1.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey | older | $39.99 | 9,794 81% | 294k | $12M (exactly $11,749,862) | Panache Digital Games |
| | WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition | $29.99 | 11,511 97% | 345k | $10M (exactly $10,356,447) | eduweb | |
| | Starpoint Gemini 2 | older | $34.99 | 3,021 70% | 91k | $3.2M (exactly $3,171,144) | Little Green Men Games |
| | SpaceBourne 2 | $19.99 | 4,951 75% | 149k | $3.0M (exactly $2,969,115) | Burak Dabak | |
| | Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1 | older | $39.99 | 1,290 87% | 39k | $1.5M (exactly $1,547,613) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | WolfQuest: Classic | $29.99 | 1,401 90% | 42k | $1.3M (exactly $1,260,480) | eduweb | |
 | Little Rocket Lab | $19.99 | 1,286 90% | 39k | $771k (exactly $771,214) | Teenage Astronauts | |
 | Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 2 | older | $39.99 | 521 87% | 16k | $625k (exactly $625,044) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | Star Dynasties | older | $30.99 | 421 70% | 13k | $391k (exactly $391,404) | Pawley Games |
 | Tesla vs Lovecraft | older | $14.99 | 851 89% | 26k | $383k (exactly $382,695) | 10tons Ltd |
 | Atomcraft | $14.99 | 407 94% | 12k | $183k (exactly $183,028) | Triplejump | |
 | Cell Command | $17.99 | 159 97% | 4.8k | $86k (exactly $85,812) | Alpherior | |
 | The Fool's Apprentice | $16.99 | 42 52% | 1.3k | $21k (exactly $21,407) | The Planar Danse | |
 | The Libido Enigma | $12.99 | 46 84% | 1.4k | $18k (exactly $17,926) | broiler_x | |
 | 法医探案团之碎嘴小诗 | $3.99 | 135 77% | 4.1k | $16k (exactly $16,160) | 芒果互娱 | |
 | Business War: ERP Sandbox Simulation | $15.99 | 33 84% | 990 | $16k (exactly $15,830) | 夜与潜伏者 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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