Should I ship an Alien game?
Aliens
Of 971 developers who shipped an Alien game 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.. 1,518 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×264 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 1,518 games are announced against 542 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $4.6k (exactly $4,554) |
| Top 5% | $125k (exactly $125,431) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 971 |
| Released games | 3,107 |
| Announced | 1,518 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Aliens
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 174,306 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 525 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,518 games are announced against 542 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
All pairs with Aliens
- Sports + Aliens Dead $390
- Action + Aliens Dead $359
- Score Attack + Aliens Dead $359
- Arena Shooter + Aliens Dead $359
- Action Roguelike + Aliens Dead $358
- Physics + Aliens Dead $358
- Tower Defense + Aliens Dead $341
- PvE + Aliens Dead $300
- Puzzle Platformer + Aliens Dead $300
- Bullet Hell + Aliens Dead $299
- Shoot 'Em Up + Aliens Dead $299
- Top-Down Shooter + Aliens Dead $299
- Combat + Aliens Dead $269
- Real Time Tactics + Aliens Dead $269
- Bullet Time + Aliens Dead $269
- Time Manipulation + Aliens Dead $269
- Arcade + Aliens Dead $240
- Driving + Aliens Dead $210
- Flight + Aliens Dead $150
- 4 Player Local + Aliens Dead $150
- Runner + Aliens Dead $150
- 3D Platformer + Aliens Dead $120
- Souls-like + Aliens Dead $90
- Vehicular Combat + Aliens Dead $89
- 2D Fighter + Aliens Dead $0
- 3D Fighter + Aliens Dead $0
- Racing + Aliens Dead $0
Comparable games
Subnautica 2018 · $307M 
Halo: The Master Chief Collection 2019 · $287M 
Half-Life: Alyx 2020 · $167M 
Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M 
Dead Space 2023 · $113M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Subnautica | older | $29.99 | 341,390 97% | 10M | $307M (exactly $307,148,583) | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
| | Halo: The Master Chief Collection | older | $39.99 | 239,603 92% | 7.2M | $287M (exactly $287,451,719) | 343 Industries, Splash Damage, Ruffian… (343 Industries, Splash Damage, Ruffian Games, Bungie, Saber Interactive) |
| | Half-Life: Alyx | older | $59.99 | 93,001 98% | 2.8M | $167M (exactly $167,373,900) | Valve |
| | Lethal Company | · EA older | $9.99 | 411,550 97% | 12M | $123M (exactly $123,341,535) | Zeekerss |
| | Dead Space | older | $59.99 | 62,997 90% | 1.9M | $113M (exactly $113,375,701) | Motive |
 | STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II | older | $39.99 | 87,494 88% | 2.6M | $105M (exactly $104,966,552) | DICE |
 | Among Us | older | $4.99 | 659,003 92% | 20M | $99M (exactly $98,652,749) | Innersloth |
 | Subnautica: Below Zero | older | $29.99 | 99,384 90% | 3.0M | $89M (exactly $89,415,785) | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
 | Black Mesa | older | $19.99 | 134,753 94% | 4.0M | $81M (exactly $80,811,374) | Crowbar Collective |
 | Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy | older | $59.99 | 35,397 93% | 1.1M | $64M (exactly $63,703,981) | Eidos-Montréal |
 | Abiotic Factor | $34.99 | 42,075 95% | 1.3M | $44M (exactly $44,166,128) | Deep Field Games | |
 | Starship Troopers: Extermination | $29.99 | 29,724 80% | 892k | $27M (exactly $26,742,683) | Offworld | |
 | Halo: Campaign Evolved | $49.99 | 12,512 61% | 375k | $19M (exactly $18,764,246) | Halo Studios | |
 | Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor | $12.99 | 46,354 86% | 1.4M | $18M (exactly $18,064,154) | Funday Games | |
 | ROUTINE | $24.99 | 7,322 91% | 220k | $5.5M (exactly $5,489,303) | Lunar Software | |
 | Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown | $34.99 | 4,162 79% | 125k | $4.4M (exactly $4,368,851) | Gamexcite | |
 | Nuclear Nightmare | · EA | $6.99 | 15,403 81% | 462k | $3.2M (exactly $3,230,009) | BG Productions |
 | Species: Unknown | · EA | $9.99 | 9,437 94% | 283k | $2.8M (exactly $2,828,269) | WanadevStudio |
 | Tower Dominion | $17.49 | 5,117 85% | 154k | $2.7M (exactly $2,684,890) | Parallel 45 Games | |
 | High On Life 2 | $39.99 | 2,200 71% | 66k | $2.6M (exactly $2,639,340) | Squanch Games, Inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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