Do I ship it?

GamesAutomobile SimAutomobile Sim + Crafting

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crafting Automobile Sim?

Automobile Sim + Crafting

Of 20 developers who shipped a Crafting Automobile Sim 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.. 71 more are announced, ×5.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $9.3k, ×6.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.5M, ×6380 the market median. Revenue is up 1600% on the market; 71 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 1600% on the market, 71 announced, ×5.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automobile Sim + Crafting
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $143k → $599 → $4.8k → $114k → $16k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automobile Sim + Crafting: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,319)
Median $9.3k (exactly $9,348)
Top 25% $114k (exactly $114,224)
Top 5% $9.6M (exactly $9,556,583)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 56
Announced 71
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 1600% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Automobile Sim
effort 7 / 10 · low · tyre, suspension and drivetrain simulation
Crafting
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Automobile Sim, Crafting; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Building, Driving, Exploration
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Relaxing, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 25,967 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $9.3k, 1 in 4 over $110k, 1 in 20 over $9.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 71 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Automobile Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Split ScreenStrong odds25 devs · median $5.5k · 14 announced
  2. + Artificial IntelligenceFair19 devs · median $3.0k · 17 announced
  3. + ZombiesFair10 devs · median $2.1k · 8 announced
  4. + IdlerFair9 devs · median $1.6k · 14 announced
  5. + LogicFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  6. + Multiple EndingsLong shot14 devs · median $1.0k · 12 announced
  7. + Score AttackLong shot38 devs · median $898 · 35 announced
  8. + ArcadeLong shot162 devs · median $774 · 180 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds46 devs · median $70k · 60 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds40 devs · median $70k · 54 announced
  11. + AutomationPoor odds13 devs · median $35k · 19 announced
  12. + BuildingPoor odds44 devs · median $24k · 89 announced

All 92 pairs on the Automobile Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 older $19.99 48,366 91% 1.5M $29M (exactly $29,005,090) Red Dot Games
Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game · EA older $29.99 16,815 93% 504k $15M (exactly $15,128,456) Camshaft Software Ltd
Mon Bazou $15.99 19,922 97% 598k $9.6M (exactly $9,556,583) Santa Goat
Cheap Car Repair $19.69 3,603 91% 108k $2.1M (exactly $2,128,292) Little Dog Games
Construction Simulator 2015 older $14.99 4,597 79% 138k $2.1M (exactly $2,067,271) weltenbauer. Software Entwicklung GmbH
Lumberjack's Dynasty older $19.99 2,358 72% 71k $1.4M (exactly $1,414,093) UMEO Studios
Junkyard Simulator · EA older $19.99 2,182 64% 65k $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545) Rebelia Games
Fruitbus $24.99 962 86% 29k $721k (exactly $721,211) Krillbite Studio
Food Truck Simulator older $19.99 1,106 68% 33k $663k (exactly $663,268) DRAGO entertainment
Simson Tuningwerkstatt 3D older $34.99 428 97% 13k $449k (exactly $449,272) Silvio Mölter, Marcel Mölter
Underground Garage $14.99 646 63% 19k $291k (exactly $290,506) BeardedBrothers.games
Long Drive North: Co-Op RV Simulator · EA $14.99 254 41% 7.6k $114k (exactly $114,224) Mindflair Games LTD
Bar After Bar $6.99 331 87% 9.9k $69k (exactly $69,411) OneMan Tim
Toll Booth Simulator $12.99 91 71% 2.7k $35k (exactly $35,463) SifDev
Carnaval Simulator $10.99 60 93% 1.8k $20k (exactly $19,782) JBA Software Development
Smart Farm $8.99 59 77% 1.8k $16k (exactly $15,912) ZD Games
Screw Drivers $7.99 39 74% 1.2k $9.3k (exactly $9,348) Creactstudios

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.