Games › Automobile Sim › Automobile Sim + Post-apocalyptic
Should I ship a Post-apocalyptic Automobile Sim?
Automobile Sim + Post-apocalyptic
Only 17 developers shipped a Post-apocalyptic Automobile Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Drive Beyond Horizons, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 41 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×2.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $13M, ×8960 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 41 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) |
| Top 25% | $80k (exactly $80,496) |
| Top 5% | $13M (exactly $13,421,879) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 41 |
| Announced | 41 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 down 100% on the market, supply 225% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 2%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Post-apocalyptic
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Automobile Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Driving, Open World
- Price point
- $12.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 22,248 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 41 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Automobile Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Split ScreenStrong odds
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + ZombiesFair
- + IdlerFair
- + LogicFair
- + Multiple EndingsLong shot
- + Score AttackLong shot
- + ArcadeLong shot
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
Mad Max 2015 · $35M 
The Long Drive 2019 · EA · $24M 
RAGE 2 2019 · $17M 
Drive Beyond Horizons 2025 · EA · $13M 
FUMES 2025 · EA · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mad Max | older | $19.99 | 57,651 91% | 1.7M | $35M (exactly $34,573,305) | Avalanche Studios |
| | The Long Drive | · EA older | $15.99 | 50,184 88% | 1.5M | $24M (exactly $24,073,265) | Genesz |
| | RAGE 2 | older | $39.99 | 14,019 64% | 421k | $17M (exactly $16,818,594) | id Software, Avalanche Studios |
| | Drive Beyond Horizons | · EA | $24.99 | 17,903 77% | 537k | $13M (exactly $13,421,879) | Drive Beyond Horizons |
| | FUMES | · EA | $14.99 | 2,816 95% | 84k | $1.3M (exactly $1,266,355) | FUMES team |
 | UNDER the SAND - a road trip simulator | older | $19.99 | 1,556 78% | 47k | $933k (exactly $933,133) | IndieMax |
 | Hard Truck Apocalypse / Ex Machina | older | $7.99 | 2,426 83% | 73k | $582k (exactly $581,512) | Targem Games |
 | The Slaverian Trucker | $11.99 | 789 85% | 24k | $284k (exactly $283,803) | SawyerK Games | |
 | Ashes of the Union | older | $12.99 | 407 63% | 12k | $159k (exactly $158,608) | 700 Games Studio |
 | Drive 4 Survival | · EA older | $19.99 | 228 58% | 6.8k | $137k (exactly $136,732) | M3M Games |
 | Long Drive North: Co-Op RV Simulator | · EA | $14.99 | 254 41% | 7.6k | $114k (exactly $114,224) | Mindflair Games LTD |
 | Snow Ash | $14.99 | 179 73% | 5.4k | $80k (exactly $80,496) | Ember Studio | |
 | Nightmare Drive | · EA | $14.99 | 156 78% | 4.7k | $70k (exactly $70,153) | Voidfiller |
 | FPV Labs - Drone Simulator | · EA | $19.99 | 104 67% | 3.1k | $62k (exactly $62,369) | FPVLabs |
 | Apocalypse Truck Simulator | $9.99 | 15 80% | 450 | $4.5k (exactly $4,496) | Festival of Delusion | |
 | Into the End (of the World) | · EA | $14.99 | 9 55% | 270 | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) | RabbiX Games |
 | Zompizza : The Last Delivery | $4.99 | 23 91% | 690 | $3.4k (exactly $3,443) | Broken Toilet Games |
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.