Games › Racing › Racing + Artificial Intelligence
Should I ship an AI Racing game?
Racing + Artificial Intelligence
Of 25 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 33 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $71k, ×115 the market median. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 33 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,436) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $10,518) |
| Top 5% | $72k (exactly $71,952) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 86 |
| Announced | 33 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Racing
- effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling, track content and opponent AI
- Artificial Intelligence
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Racing; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Automobile Sim, Driving
- Price point
- $7.49 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.49.
The top 10 games average 61% positive over 17,118 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Racing with a different setting or mood, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Assetto Corsa | older | $19.99 | 136,067 92% | 4.1M | $82M (exactly $81,599,380) | Kunos Simulazioni |
| | Assetto Corsa EVO | · EA | $39.99 | 16,545 60% | 496k | $20M (exactly $19,849,036) | KUNOS Simulazioni |
| | RIDE 5 | older | $49.99 | 3,368 82% | 101k | $5.1M (exactly $5,050,990) | Milestone S.r.l. |
| | SimplePlanes | older | $12.99 | 9,811 93% | 294k | $3.8M (exactly $3,823,347) | Jundroo, LLC |
| | Redout: Enhanced Edition | older | $19.99 | 3,438 84% | 103k | $2.1M (exactly $2,061,769) | 34BigThings srl |
| | TT Isle Of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 | older | $49.99 | 653 76% | 20k | $979k (exactly $979,304) | Nacon Studio Milan |
| | Redout 2 | older | $19.99 | 1,168 82% | 35k | $700k (exactly $700,450) | 34BigThings srl |
| | Pro Cycling Manager 2022 | older | $39.99 | 433 85% | 13k | $519k (exactly $519,470) | Cyanide Studio |
| | Pro Cycling Manager 2021 | older | $39.99 | 344 77% | 10k | $413k (exactly $412,697) | Cyanide Studio |
| | Little Racers STREET | older | $5.99 | 509 84% | 15k | $91k (exactly $91,467) | Milkstone Studios |
| | Dino Ramen Express | · EA | $14.99 | 160 72% | 4.8k | $72k (exactly $71,952) | ANTIGames |
| | AI Learns To Drive | $7.49 | 208 95% | 6.2k | $47k (exactly $46,738) | ActivationFunction | |
| | Virtual Driving School | $19.99 | 32 37% | 960 | $19k (exactly $19,190) | CGA Simulation | |
| | Sex Beats | $9.99 | 62 77% | 1.9k | $19k (exactly $18,581) | Naku Kinoko | |
| | Delta Manager | · EA | $12.99 | 28 92% | 840 | $11k (exactly $10,912) | Fassi Blue |
| | Big Mutha Truckers | $8.99 | 39 92% | 1.2k | $11k (exactly $10,518) | Eutechnyx | |
| | Racer Overdrive | $5.99 | 18 88% | 540 | $3.2k (exactly $3,235) | IntActive | |
| | Speedy 500 | $9.99 | 9 100% | 270 | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) | Dangerous Derk Interactive | |
| | Urban Shadows Racing™ Tokyo | $4.99 | 17 64% | 510 | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) | TechRoar, TechRoarLex |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.