The niche at a glance

Sci-fi on Steam: 14,144 released games, 2,963 in the last 12 months, 8,250 announced and still unreleased. Of the 5,992 released between three years and 90 days ago, the median has 10 lifetime reviews. 50% of them never reached 10 reviews. Free to play: 11%. Sci-fi is a Steam store tag, applied by the developer and refined by players; a game carries several tags at once, so niche counts overlap and do not add up to the size of the Steam catalogue. Data as of .

What releases end up with

lifetime reviews · released 3 years ago to 90 days ago · failures included5,992 releases
p100
p252
median10
p7542
p90284
50% of them never reached 10 reviewsMedian price $6.99 · 11% free-to-play

Releases per year

outcomes count only games released more than 90 days ago, anything newer has not had time to gather reviews
2019
501median 40 · 27% under 10 reviews
2020
905median 21 · 34% under 10 reviews
2021
1,228median 14 · 42% under 10 reviews
2022
1,315median 16 · 40% under 10 reviews
2023
1,516median 14 · 42% under 10 reviews
2024
1,941median 12 · 45% under 10 reviews
2025
2,195median 10 · 49% under 10 reviews
2026
2,518median 5 · 58% under 10 reviews · 952 too fresh

Sci-fi × mechanics: what the pairings end up with

every mechanics tag shipped with Sci-fi at least 5 times · same window× mechanics× presentation
share reaching 500 reviews, shrunk towards the catalogue · click a row to open the concept
Sci-fi ×3 y12 mmedian≥500adjusted vs chancelast hitwho made it
Open World Survival Craft401522942.5% 29%–58%30.5%
ordinary ×1.48174 d
Satisfactory
Dune: Awakening
The Planet Crafter
Satisfactory · Dune: Awakening · The Planet Crafter
Extraction Shooter30108240.0% 25%–58%26.7%
cliché ×2.47139 d
HELLDIVERS™ 2
ARC Raiders
Marathon
HELLDIVERS™ 2 · ARC Raiders · Marathon
Character Action Game165193under 2025.9%
ordinary ×1.1193 d
DRAGON BALL GEKISHIN SQUADRA
NINJA GAIDEN 4
ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN
DRAGON BALL GEKISHIN SQUADRA · NINJA GAIDEN 4 · ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN
Crafting2841002821.5% 17%–27%20.5%
ordinary ×1.0492 d
ARC Raiders
Satisfactory
Dune: Awakening
ARC Raiders · Satisfactory · Dune: Awakening
Real-Time with Pause17462under 2019.8%
cliché ×2.39150 d
The Universim
Void War
New Cycle
The Universim · Void War · New Cycle
Sandbox3301201920.3% 16%–25%19.5%
ordinary ×1.00127 d
Satisfactory
Subnautica 2
Dune: Awakening
Satisfactory · Subnautica 2 · Dune: Awakening
Looter Shooter120342521.7% 15%–30%19.5%
cliché ×2.24127 d
The First Descendant
Borderlands 4
Risk of Rain Returns
The First Descendant · Borderlands 4 · Risk of Rain Returns
Spectacle fighter65124123.1% 15%–35%19.2%
ordinary ×1.2893 d
NINJA GAIDEN 4
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster
Kotama and Academy Citadel
NINJA GAIDEN 4 · Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster · Kotama and Academy Citadel
Turn-Based54185622.2% 13%–35%18.0%
ordinary ×1.06160 d
MENACE
Caves of Qud
Xenonauts 2
MENACE · Caves of Qud · Xenonauts 2
City Builder88332920.5% 13%–30%17.9%
ordinary ×0.78168 d
Jurassic World Evolution 3
Space Haven
Two Point Museum
Jurassic World Evolution 3 · Space Haven · Two Point Museum
MMORPG2164328.6% 14%–50%17.9%
ordinary ×0.83139 d
Blue Protocol: Star Resonance
Super Sus
Warborne Above Ashes
Blue Protocol: Star Resonance · Super Sus · Warborne Above Ashes
Gambling16515under 2017.6%
avoided ×0.25344 d
FINAL FANTASY VII EVER CRISIS
Scratch Inc.
KAIJU NO. 8 THE GAME
FINAL FANTASY VII EVER CRISIS · Scratch Inc. · KAIJU NO. 8 THE GAME
Base Building3291232818.2% 14%–23%17.6%
cliché ×1.70139 d
Satisfactory
Subnautica 2
Dune: Awakening
Satisfactory · Subnautica 2 · Dune: Awakening
Open World4271381518.0% 15%–22%17.5%
ordinary ×1.20139 d
HELLDIVERS™ 2
ARC Raiders
Satisfactory
HELLDIVERS™ 2 · ARC Raiders · Satisfactory
Automation192892317.7% 13%–24%16.7%
ordinary ×1.3492 d
Satisfactory
The Planet Crafter
shapez 2 - Factory
Satisfactory · The Planet Crafter · shapez 2 - Factory
155 pairings cleared 20 releases; 26 more never reached 5 and are not listed. Compared against 6.6% for games that carry any tags at all.

About these numbers

“Adjusted” is the share pulled towards the catalogue with the weight of twenty releases: the top of any ranked list is optimistic (out of a hundred pairings one will show 35 % on 23 releases by luck alone), and the adjustment is what stops a small lucky group from leading. The band next to the raw share is the 95 % interval. This list is the same for everyone today; the second opinion is the description-based one on Pitch comps.