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Should I ship a Level Editor Arcade game?
Level Editor + Arcade
Of 119 developers who shipped a Level Editor Arcade 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.. 190 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $89; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×273 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 190 games are announced against 76 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $89 (exactly $89) |
|---|---|
| Median | $449 (exactly $449) |
| Top 25% | $2.9k (exactly $2,876) |
| Top 5% | $171k (exactly $171,336) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 119 |
| Released games | 396 |
| Announced | 190 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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
- Arcade
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Level Editor, Arcade; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Racing, Driving
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 97% positive over 34,332 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 47 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 190 games are announced against 76 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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
Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M 
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number 2015 · $31M 
Rhythm Doctor 2025 · $15M 
A Dance of Fire and Ice 2019 · $14M 
SpeedRunners 2016 · $10M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Geometry Dash | older | $4.99 | 595,606 93% | 18M | $89M (exactly $89,162,218) | RobTop Games |
| | Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number | older | $14.99 | 69,423 94% | 2.1M | $31M (exactly $31,219,523) | Dennaton Games |
| | Rhythm Doctor | $19.99 | 25,021 98% | 751k | $15M (exactly $15,005,094) | 7th Beat Games | |
| | A Dance of Fire and Ice | older | $5.99 | 78,688 94% | 2.4M | $14M (exactly $14,140,234) | 7th Beat Games |
| | SpeedRunners | older | $14.99 | 22,842 94% | 685k | $10M (exactly $10,272,047) | DoubleDutch Games |
 | Nuclear Option | · EA older | $19.99 | 10,275 95% | 308k | $6.2M (exactly $6,161,917) | Shockfront Studios |
 | HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™ | older | $29.99 | 5,427 81% | 163k | $4.9M (exactly $4,882,672) | Milestone S.r.l. |
 | Distance | older | $24.99 | 5,832 93% | 175k | $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) | Refract |
 | Rift of the NecroDancer | $19.99 | 5,844 93% | 175k | $3.5M (exactly $3,504,647) | Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios I… (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios Inc.) | |
 | Cricket 24 | older | $44.99 | 2,435 79% | 73k | $3.3M (exactly $3,286,520) | Big Ant Studios |
 | Beatblock | · EA | $14.99 | 1,237 97% | 37k | $556k (exactly $556,279) | BubbleTabby |
 | Wreckreation | $39.99 | 360 63% | 11k | $432k (exactly $431,892) | Three Fields Entertainment | |
 | Shotgun Cop Man | $9.99 | 633 96% | 19k | $190k (exactly $189,710) | DeadToast Entertainment | |
 | HYPERBEAT | $14.99 | 381 99% | 11k | $171k (exactly $171,336) | Dreamware Media | |
 | ReCharge RC: High Voltage | · EA | $13.99 | 393 95% | 12k | $165k (exactly $164,942) | Hondune Games |
 | Apex Rush | · EA | $14.99 | 271 84% | 8.1k | $122k (exactly $121,869) | Thunderboom Studios |
 | Rizline | $49.99 | 66 65% | 2.0k | $99k (exactly $98,980) | Pigeon Games | |
 | Asterika: Phantom Rose Refrain | $14.99 | 126 95% | 3.8k | $57k (exactly $56,662) | makaroll |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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