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Should I ship a Level Editor Adventure game?
Level Editor + Adventure
Of 92 developers who shipped a Level Editor Adventure 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.. 195 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $840, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×304 the market median. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 195 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $839 (exactly $839) |
| Top 25% | $10k (exactly $10,195) |
| Top 5% | $191k (exactly $191,174) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 92 |
| Released games | 367 |
| Announced | 195 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.49 |
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 350% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Level Editor
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Adventure
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Level Editor, Adventure; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Action, Puzzle
- Price point
- $7.49 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.49.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 27,604 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 195 games are announced against 49 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Level Editor with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + AutomationLong shot
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
American Truck Simulator 2016 · $99M 
BattleBlock Theater® 2014 · $25M 
Solasta: Crown of the Magister 2021 · $18M 
Train Simulator Classic 2015 · $18M 
Blue Prince 2025 · $16M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | American Truck Simulator | older | $19.99 | 165,692 97% | 5.0M | $99M (exactly $99,365,492) | SCS Software |
| | BattleBlock Theater® | older | $14.99 | 55,793 97% | 1.7M | $25M (exactly $25,090,112) | The Behemoth |
| | Solasta: Crown of the Magister | older | $29.99 | 19,680 87% | 590k | $18M (exactly $17,706,096) | Tactical Adventures |
| | Train Simulator Classic | older | $29.99 | 19,461 73% | 584k | $18M (exactly $17,509,062) | Dovetail Games |
| | Blue Prince | $29.99 | 17,498 85% | 525k | $16M (exactly $15,742,951) | Dogubomb | |
 | Titan Quest Anniversary Edition | older | $19.99 | 25,876 91% | 776k | $16M (exactly $15,517,837) | Iron Lore Entertainment, THQ Nordic |
 | Escape Simulator | older | $19.99 | 16,496 94% | 495k | $9.9M (exactly $9,892,651) | Pine Studio |
 | Clustertruck | older | $14.99 | 14,706 93% | 441k | $6.6M (exactly $6,613,288) | Landfall |
 | Far Cry® 2 | older | $9.99 | 17,359 75% | 521k | $5.2M (exactly $5,202,492) | Ubisoft Montreal |
 | SPORE™ Galactic Adventures | older | $19.99 | 7,249 89% | 217k | $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) | EA - Maxis |
 | Escape Simulator 2 | $19.99 | 4,292 92% | 129k | $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912) | Pine Studio | |
 | Everhood 2 | $19.99 | 2,207 74% | 66k | $1.3M (exactly $1,323,538) | Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca | |
 | The Artisan of Glimmith | $12.99 | 2,513 97% | 75k | $979k (exactly $979,316) | Lunarch Studios | |
 | Overthrown | $24.99 | 255 55% | 7.7k | $191k (exactly $191,174) | Brimstone | |
 | Suck Up! | $16.99 | 205 62% | 6.2k | $104k (exactly $104,488) | Proxima | |
 | Ballex²: The Hanging Gardens | $14.99 | 179 95% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Mushreb Games | |
 | Valkyrie Saga | $7.99 | 288 92% | 8.6k | $69k (exactly $69,034) | Public Void | |
 | Tennis Manager 26 | $39.99 | 46 73% | 1.4k | $55k (exactly $55,186) | Rebound | |
 | Hell of an Office | $14.99 | 121 89% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $54,414) | 43 Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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