Do I ship it?

Games › Settings › Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic game?

Futuristic

Of 1,949 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 3,590 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $660, ×1.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×432 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 3,590 games are announced against 1,098 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 3,590 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,949
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0k → $1.2k → $1.1k → $1.2k → $987 → $899 → $599 (still earning) → $180 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,949
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $657 (exactly $657)
Top 25% $4.9k (exactly $4,940)
Top 5% $205k (exactly $205,149)
Developers, 2 yr 1,949
Released games 6,052
Announced 3,590
Effort 4 / 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 down 20% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Futuristic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 589,640 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $660, 1 in 4 over $4.9k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 1,100 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 3,590 games are announced against 1,098 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Futuristic

158 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Survival + Futuristic Poor odds $564 181 devs
  2. Space Sim + Futuristic Poor odds $540 124 devs
  3. Roguelite + Futuristic Poor odds $539 246 devs
  4. Tactical + Futuristic Poor odds $539 144 devs
  5. Tower Defense + Futuristic Poor odds $539 111 devs
  6. Local Multiplayer + Futuristic Poor odds $539 52 devs
  7. Action RTS + Futuristic Poor odds $539 34 devs
  8. 4 Player Local + Futuristic Poor odds $539 20 devs
  9. Creature Collector + Futuristic Poor odds $538 24 devs
  10. Platformer + Futuristic Poor odds $479 213 devs
  11. Action RPG + Futuristic Poor odds $479 95 devs
  12. Precision Platformer + Futuristic Poor odds $479 81 devs
  13. Real Time Tactics + Futuristic Poor odds $450 69 devs
  14. Sports + Futuristic Poor odds $450 64 devs
  15. CRPG + Futuristic Poor odds $450 19 devs
  16. Action Roguelike + Futuristic Poor odds $449 195 devs
  17. Flight + Futuristic Poor odds $449 93 devs
  18. Collectathon + Futuristic Poor odds $449 46 devs
  19. Board Game + Futuristic Poor odds $449 30 devs
  20. Party Game + Futuristic Poor odds $449 23 devs
  21. Combat + Futuristic Poor odds $390 481 devs
  22. Rhythm + Futuristic Poor odds $360 61 devs
  23. Card Battler + Futuristic Poor odds $330 43 devs
  24. Bullet Heaven + Futuristic Poor odds $300 24 devs
  25. Dynamic Narration + Futuristic Poor odds $300 12 devs
  26. Class-Based + Futuristic Poor odds $299 22 devs
  27. Tabletop + Futuristic Poor odds $225 29 devs
  28. Asynchronous Multiplayer + Futuristic Poor odds $225 10 devs
  29. Match 3 + Futuristic Poor odds $208 9 devs
  30. Fighting + Futuristic Dead $7.2k 8 devs
  31. Hidden Object + Futuristic Dead $479 62 devs
  32. 3D Fighter + Futuristic Dead $479 36 devs
  33. Football (Soccer) + Futuristic Dead $479 10 devs
  34. MOBA + Futuristic Dead $479 10 devs
  35. Vehicular Combat + Futuristic Dead $450 54 devs
  36. Physics + Futuristic Dead $449 219 devs
  37. Puzzle Platformer + Futuristic Dead $449 96 devs
  38. Quick-Time Events + Futuristic Dead $418 24 devs
  39. 2D Platformer + Futuristic Dead $360 169 devs
  40. Word Game + Futuristic Dead $360 15 devs
  41. PvE + Futuristic Dead $358 326 devs
  42. Arcade + Futuristic Dead $300 528 devs
  43. Top-Down Shooter + Futuristic Dead $300 170 devs
  44. 3D Platformer + Futuristic Dead $300 143 devs
  45. Arena Shooter + Futuristic Dead $300 112 devs
  46. Boxing + Futuristic Dead $300 6 devs
  47. Bullet Hell + Futuristic Dead $299 260 devs
  48. Shoot 'Em Up + Futuristic Dead $299 223 devs
  49. Score Attack + Futuristic Dead $299 189 devs
  50. Tanks + Futuristic Dead $299 13 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Cyberpunk 2077 2020 · $1.6B Battlefield™ 2042 2021 · $468M ARC Raiders 2025 · $359M Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 2024 · $303M Call of Duty®: Black Ops III 2015 · $284M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Cyberpunk 2077 older $59.99 883,400 87% 27M $1.6B (exactly $1,589,854,980) CD PROJEKT RED
Battlefield™ 2042 older $59.99 260,308 49% 7.8M $468M (exactly $468,476,308) DICE
ARC Raiders $39.99 299,346 82% 9.0M $359M (exactly $359,125,396) Embark Studios
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 older $59.99 168,628 84% 5.1M $303M (exactly $303,479,812) Saber Interactive
Call of Duty®: Black Ops III older $59.99 157,694 88% 4.7M $284M (exactly $283,801,892) Treyarch, Aspyr (Mac)
Detroit: Become Human older $39.99 226,411 96% 6.8M $272M (exactly $271,625,277) Quantic Dream
Titanfall® 2 older $29.99 255,050 95% 7.7M $229M (exactly $229,468,485) Respawn Entertainment
Stellaris older $49.99 139,718 85% 4.2M $210M (exactly $209,535,085) Paradox Development Studio
Half-Life: Alyx older $59.99 93,001 98% 2.8M $167M (exactly $167,373,900) Valve
Borderlands 4 $69.99 57,874 59% 1.7M $122M (exactly $121,518,038) Gearbox Software
Stellar Blade™ $59.99 61,289 93% 1.8M $110M (exactly $110,301,813) SHIFT UP Corporation
PRAGMATA $59.99 32,885 96% 987k $59M (exactly $59,183,134) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
REMATCH $29.99 39,905 70% 1.2M $36M (exactly $35,902,528) Sloclap
Killing Floor 3 $39.99 16,493 46% 495k $20M (exactly $19,786,652) Tripwire Interactive
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Cronos: The New Dawn $59.99 7,753 87% 233k $14M (exactly $13,953,074) Bloober Team
shapez 2 - Factory $29.99 13,846 96% 415k $12M (exactly $12,457,246) tobspr Games

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