Games › Automobile Sim › Automobile Sim + Sandbox
Should I ship a Sandbox Automobile Sim?
Automobile Sim + Sandbox
Of 79 developers who shipped a Sandbox 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.. 116 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $16k, ×11 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.5M, ×6380 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 116 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.1k (exactly $1,078) |
|---|---|
| Median | $16k (exactly $15,912) |
| Top 25% | $384k (exactly $384,266) |
| Top 5% | $9.6M (exactly $9,556,583) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 79 |
| Released games | 219 |
| Announced | 116 |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, 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
- Sandbox
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Automobile Sim, Sandbox; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Driving, Open World, Simulation
- Price point
- $12.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Realistic, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 442,242 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 6 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 116 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Automobile Sim with a different second tag, 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | BeamNG.drive | · EA older | $24.99 | 388,236 97% | 12M | $291M (exactly $291,060,529) | BeamNG |
| | Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced | $29.99 | 210,784 83% | 6.3M | $190M (exactly $189,642,365) | Rockstar North | |
| | Forza Horizon 6 | $69.99 | 86,730 82% | 2.6M | $182M (exactly $182,106,981) | Playground Games | |
| | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition | older | $19.99 | 180,637 83% | 5.4M | $108M (exactly $108,328,009) | Rockstar North, Rockstar Toronto |
| | The Crew™ 2 | older | $29.99 | 86,533 78% | 2.6M | $78M (exactly $77,853,740) | Ivory Tower |
| | The Crew Motorfest | older | $69.99 | 24,230 78% | 727k | $51M (exactly $50,875,731) | Ubisoft Ivory Tower |
| | My Summer Car | $14.99 | 108,503 94% | 3.3M | $49M (exactly $48,793,799) | Amistech Games | |
| | CarX Drift Racing Online | older | $16.99 | 82,720 95% | 2.5M | $42M (exactly $42,162,384) | CarX Technologies, LLC |
| | SnowRunner | older | $29.99 | 46,343 90% | 1.4M | $42M (exactly $41,694,797) | Saber Interactive |
| | Mad Max | older | $19.99 | 57,651 91% | 1.7M | $35M (exactly $34,573,305) | Avalanche Studios |
| | Mon Bazou | $15.99 | 19,922 97% | 598k | $9.6M (exactly $9,556,583) | Santa Goat | |
| | Railroads Online | $29.99 | 5,410 75% | 162k | $4.9M (exactly $4,867,377) | Stefan Kelnberger | |
| | My Garage | $19.99 | 4,010 90% | 120k | $2.4M (exactly $2,404,797) | Viking Game Studio | |
| | Car Service Together | · EA | $19.99 | 3,589 79% | 108k | $2.2M (exactly $2,152,323) | V12 Studio |
| | Docked | $29.99 | 1,210 72% | 36k | $1.1M (exactly $1,088,637) | Saber Interactive | |
| | City Car Driving 2.0 | · EA | $29.99 | 1,198 60% | 36k | $1.1M (exactly $1,077,841) | Forward Development, Ltd. |
| | Bus Bound | $29.99 | 886 72% | 27k | $797k (exactly $797,134) | stillalive studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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