Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Steampunk
Should I ship a Steampunk Sandbox?
Sandbox + Steampunk
Only 8 developers shipped a Steampunk Sandbox 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, Dead Weight, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 41 more are announced, ×8.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $52k, ×82 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $6.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×357 the market median. Revenue is up 335% on the market; 41 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $6.0k (exactly $5,998) |
|---|---|
| Median | $52k (exactly $51,782) |
| Top 25% | $137k (exactly $137,158) |
| Top 5% | $224k (exactly $224,078) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 8 |
| Released games | 51 |
| Announced | 41 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 335% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, 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
- Sandbox
- Price point
- $12.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 35,490 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $6.0k. 41 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×8.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
Volcanoids 2019 · EA · $4.6M 
Opus Magnum 2017 · $3.6M 
Railroader 2023 · EA · $3.0M 
SteamWorld Dig 2013 · $2.0M 
Sir, You Are Being Hunted 2014 · $1.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Volcanoids | · EA older | $19.99 | 7,679 83% | 230k | $4.6M (exactly $4,605,096) | Volcanoid |
| | Opus Magnum | older | $19.99 | 5,964 97% | 179k | $3.6M (exactly $3,576,611) | Zachtronics |
| | Railroader | · EA older | $29.99 | 3,343 96% | 100k | $3.0M (exactly $3,007,697) | Giraffe Lab LLC |
| | SteamWorld Dig | older | $9.99 | 6,509 94% | 195k | $2.0M (exactly $1,950,747) | Image & Form Games |
| | Sir, You Are Being Hunted | older | $19.99 | 2,875 79% | 86k | $1.7M (exactly $1,724,137) | Big Robot Ltd |
 | Black Skylands | older | $19.99 | 2,849 82% | 85k | $1.7M (exactly $1,708,545) | Hungry Couch Games |
 | Airborne Kingdom | older | $24.99 | 2,104 86% | 63k | $1.6M (exactly $1,577,369) | The Wandering Band LLC |
 | SteamWorld Build | older | $24.99 | 1,884 83% | 57k | $1.4M (exactly $1,412,435) | The Station |
 | Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles | older | $19.99 | 1,381 85% | 41k | $828k (exactly $828,186) | Tomas Sala |
 | Airship: Kingdoms Adrift | older | $29.99 | 902 75% | 27k | $812k (exactly $811,529) | Revolution Industry |
 | Dead Weight | $12.99 | 575 82% | 17k | $224k (exactly $224,078) | Klukva Games | |
 | Steel Artery: Train City Builder | $14.99 | 305 71% | 9.2k | $137k (exactly $137,158) | SoulAge23 | |
 | Super Mining Mechs | $4.99 | 841 86% | 25k | $126k (exactly $125,898) | Delayed Victory | |
 | ShipShaper: Falconeer Chronicles | · EA | $8.99 | 192 96% | 5.8k | $52k (exactly $51,782) | Tomas Sala |
 | The Fool's Apprentice | $16.99 | 42 52% | 1.3k | $21k (exactly $21,407) | The Planar Danse | |
 | Wings of Aviora | · EA | $24.99 | 8 87% | 240 | $6.0k (exactly $5,998) | Stormy XP |
 | Steampunk Idle Spinner | $4.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $748 (exactly $748) | Airapport | |
 | Endless Vine | · EA | $3.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $359 (exactly $359) | Circuit Root |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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