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Should I ship a Physics 4 Player Local game?
Physics + 4 Player Local
Of 109 developers who shipped a Physics 4 Player Local 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.. 248 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×196 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 248 games are announced against 64 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 25% | $9.9k (exactly $9,893) |
| Top 5% | $123k (exactly $122,938) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 109 |
| Released games | 386 |
| Announced | 248 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 30% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Physics
- effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning
- 4 Player Local
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Physics, 4 Player Local; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Multiplayer, Local Co-Op
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, Family Friendly, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 96% positive over 36,856 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 9 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 248 games are announced against 64 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Physics with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderStrong odds
- + Dating SimFair
- + PinballFair
- + World War IIFair
- + Mini GolfFair
- + GolfFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CatsFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + BilliardsFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Party Animals | older | $19.99 | 56,043 81% | 1.7M | $34M (exactly $33,608,987) | Recreate Games |
| | Gang Beasts | older | $19.99 | 54,880 85% | 1.6M | $33M (exactly $32,911,536) | Boneloaf, Rocket Science |
| | Wobbly Life | $24.99 | 33,034 97% | 991k | $25M (exactly $24,765,590) | RubberBandGames | |
| | Stick Fight: The Game | older | $4.99 | 99,952 93% | 3.0M | $15M (exactly $14,962,814) | Landfall West |
| | Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince | older | $29.99 | 11,712 88% | 351k | $11M (exactly $10,537,286) | Frozenbyte |
| | Amazing Frog? | · EA older | $19.99 | 11,169 94% | 335k | $6.7M (exactly $6,698,049) | Fayju |
| | Bopl Battle | older | $9.99 | 21,530 97% | 646k | $6.5M (exactly $6,452,541) | Johan Grönvall |
| | Tricky Towers | older | $14.99 | 12,390 90% | 372k | $5.6M (exactly $5,571,783) | WeirdBeard |
| | Worms Revolution | older | $14.99 | 5,664 86% | 170k | $2.5M (exactly $2,547,101) | Team17 Digital Ltd |
| | SpiderHeck | older | $14.99 | 3,922 93% | 118k | $1.8M (exactly $1,763,723) | Neverjam |
| | Biped 2 | $14.99 | 813 71% | 24k | $366k (exactly $365,606) | META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy… (META Publishing, NEXT Studios, PlayJoy Studios) | |
| | Twin Shot Deluxe | $9.99 | 1,167 95% | 35k | $350k (exactly $349,750) | Nitrome Limited | |
| | Bang Bang Barrage | $7.99 | 757 95% | 23k | $181k (exactly $181,453) | Monkey Bread | |
| | Choppy Cuts | $16.99 | 261 75% | 7.8k | $133k (exactly $133,032) | Moco Studios I | |
| | Ultimate Sheep Raccoon | $19.99 | 205 45% | 6.2k | $123k (exactly $122,938) | Clever Endeavour Games | |
| | Knock'Em Out | $7.99 | 239 85% | 7.2k | $57k (exactly $57,288) | BBear Studio | |
| | BattleCap | $11.99 | 159 96% | 4.8k | $57k (exactly $57,192) | MechAlmond Productions | |
| | Slip & Skid | $12.99 | 141 97% | 4.2k | $55k (exactly $54,948) | NHOGS Interactive | |
| | Tipston Salvage | $16.99 | 80 97% | 2.4k | $41k (exactly $40,776) | Pontus Karlsson |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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