Do I ship it?

Games › Automobile Sim › Automobile Sim + PvE

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Automobile Sim?

Automobile Sim + PvE

Of 36 developers who shipped a PvE 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.. 66 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $510; 1 in 20 cleared $910k, ×612 the market median. Revenue is up 125% on the market; 66 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 125% on the market, 66 announced, ×4.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automobile Sim + PvE
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $5.7k → $1.0k → $1.9k → $1.4k → $10k → $1.2k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automobile Sim + PvE: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $505 (exactly $505)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,709)
Top 25% $10k (exactly $10,209)
Top 5% $916k (exactly $916,133)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 85
Announced 66
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 125% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Automobile Sim, PvE; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Racing, Driving
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 4,953 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $510, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $910k.

3 in 10 developers made under $510. 8 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 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

SnowRunner 2021 · $42M F1® Manager 2024 2024 · $5.8M KartKraft™ 2018 · $2.2M TRAIL OUT 2022 · $1.8M FUMES 2025 · EA · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SnowRunner older $29.99 46,343 90% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,694,797) Saber Interactive
F1® Manager 2024 older $34.99 5,554 83% 167k $5.8M (exactly $5,830,034) Frontier Developments
KartKraft™ older $24.99 2,987 73% 90k $2.2M (exactly $2,239,354) Motorsport Games
TRAIL OUT older $19.99 3,019 81% 91k $1.8M (exactly $1,810,494) GOOD BOYS
FUMES · EA $14.99 2,816 95% 84k $1.3M (exactly $1,266,355) FUMES team
CarX Drift Racing Online 2 · EA $24.99 1,222 71% 37k $916k (exactly $916,133) CarX Technologies, LLC
Kanjozoku Game レーサー Online Street Racing & Drift older $4.99 3,219 82% 97k $482k (exactly $481,884) SG DEV
Karting Superstars · EA older $17.99 336 81% 10k $181k (exactly $181,339) Original Fire Games
GT Manager $24.99 236 71% 7.1k $177k (exactly $176,929) THE TINY DIGITAL FACTORY, IMV STUDIO
OVERPASS™ older $29.99 104 51% 3.1k $94k (exactly $93,569) Zordix Racing
Nightmare Drive · EA $14.99 156 78% 4.7k $70k (exactly $70,153) Voidfiller
EXOcars $19.99 106 69% 3.2k $64k (exactly $63,568) XOCUS
Open Wheel Manager 2 $9.99 104 72% 3.1k $31k (exactly $31,169) Paprikash Games
Carnaval Simulator $10.99 60 93% 1.8k $20k (exactly $19,782) JBA Software Development
Car Factory Empire · EA $8.99 48 56% 1.4k $13k (exactly $12,946) RDS Games
My Car My Life · EA $1.99 171 98% 5.1k $10k (exactly $10,209) Noguiin
Chaos on Wheels $9.99 34 67% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Acodeon Development

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