Games › Racing › Racing + Adventure
Should I ship an Adventure Racing game?
Racing + Adventure
Of 278 developers who shipped an Adventure Racing 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.. 355 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 141 developers shipped in the last year and 355 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $449 (exactly $449) |
| Top 25% | $3.7k (exactly $3,742) |
| Top 5% | $497k (exactly $496,505) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 278 |
| Released games | 1,190 |
| Announced | 355 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 35% on the market, supply as many developers as 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.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Racing, Adventure; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Simulation, Driving
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 386,878 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 208 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 355 games are announced against 141 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Racing with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + CapitalismStrong odds
- + ModernFair
- + TransportationFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Time ManipulationFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + City BuilderLong shot
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Forza Horizon 5 | older | $59.99 | 260,218 89% | 7.8M | $468M (exactly $468,314,335) | Playground Games |
| | BeamNG.drive | · EA older | $24.99 | 388,236 97% | 12M | $291M (exactly $291,060,529) | BeamNG |
| | Need for Speed™ Heat | older | $69.99 | 128,933 84% | 3.9M | $271M (exactly $270,720,620) | Ghost Games |
| | Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced | $29.99 | 210,784 83% | 6.3M | $190M (exactly $189,642,365) | Rockstar North | |
| | Mafia: Definitive Edition | older | $39.99 | 88,955 86% | 2.7M | $107M (exactly $106,719,314) | Hangar 13 |
| | Need for Speed™ Unbound | older | $69.99 | 49,862 61% | 1.5M | $105M (exactly $104,695,241) | Criterion Games |
| | The Crew™ 2 | older | $29.99 | 86,533 78% | 2.6M | $78M (exactly $77,853,740) | Ivory Tower |
| | My Summer Car | $14.99 | 108,503 94% | 3.3M | $49M (exactly $48,793,799) | Amistech Games | |
| | Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition | older | $19.99 | 70,499 94% | 2.1M | $42M (exactly $42,278,250) | United Front Games, Feral Interactive (… (United Front Games, Feral Interactive (Mac)) |
| | SnowRunner | older | $29.99 | 46,343 90% | 1.4M | $42M (exactly $41,694,797) | Saber Interactive |
| | Drive Beyond Horizons | · EA | $24.99 | 17,903 77% | 537k | $13M (exactly $13,421,879) | Drive Beyond Horizons |
| | Tower Unite | $19.99 | 16,237 89% | 487k | $9.7M (exactly $9,737,329) | PixelTail Games | |
| | Haste | $19.99 | 12,690 92% | 381k | $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) | Landfall | |
| | Super Battle Golf | $12.99 | 9,325 93% | 280k | $3.6M (exactly $3,633,952) | Brimstone | |
| | My Garage | $19.99 | 4,010 90% | 120k | $2.4M (exactly $2,404,797) | Viking Game Studio | |
| | Samson | $24.99 | 2,911 54% | 87k | $2.2M (exactly $2,182,377) | Liquid Swords | |
| | Denshattack! | $19.99 | 2,910 98% | 87k | $1.7M (exactly $1,745,127) | Undercoders | |
| | STORROR Parkour Pro | · EA | $24.99 | 1,605 71% | 48k | $1.2M (exactly $1,203,268) | Hole in the Sleeve Game Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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