Do I ship it?

GamesAutomobile SimAutomobile Sim + Strategy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Strategy Automobile Sim?

Automobile Sim + Strategy

Of 48 developers who shipped a Strategy 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.. 61 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.4k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $430k, ×294 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 61 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 61 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Automobile Sim + Strategy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 48
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.1k → $1.8k → $16k → $1.4k → $1.6k → $629 (still earning) → $959 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Automobile Sim + Strategy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 48
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $18,887)
Top 5% $440k (exactly $439,953)
Developers, 2 yr 48
Released games 159
Announced 61
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 95% on the market, supply 30% 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
Strategy
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, Strategy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Immersive Sim
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 4,910 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $430k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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
Farming Simulator 19 older $17.99 64,621 94% 1.9M $35M (exactly $34,875,954) GIANTS Software
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
Farming Simulator 17 older $14.99 23,063 93% 692k $10M (exactly $10,371,431) GIANTS Software
Gold Mining Simulator older $19.99 15,132 72% 454k $9.1M (exactly $9,074,660) Code Horizon
Motorsport Manager older $19.99 11,499 91% 345k $6.9M (exactly $6,895,950) Playsport Games
Clustertruck older $14.99 14,706 93% 441k $6.6M (exactly $6,613,288) Landfall
F1® Manager 2024 older $34.99 5,554 83% 167k $5.8M (exactly $5,830,034) Frontier Developments
Farming Simulator 15 older $12.99 13,306 92% 399k $5.2M (exactly $5,185,348) GIANTS Software
Bus Simulator 18 older $14.99 8,779 79% 263k $3.9M (exactly $3,947,916) stillalive studios
Train Sim World® 6 $49.99 2,485 78% 75k $3.7M (exactly $3,726,754) Dovetail Games
Subway Builder $39.99 394 59% 12k $473k (exactly $472,682) Colin Miller, EJ Fox, Curran Kelleher,… (Colin Miller, EJ Fox, Curran Kelleher, Nate Maue, Alex Wohlbruck, Piero Maddaleni, Brooks Flannery)
Bus Simulator 27 $29.99 489 59% 15k $440k (exactly $439,953) Simteract
Golden Lap $14.99 624 86% 19k $281k (exactly $280,613) Funselektor Labs Inc., Strelka Games
GT Manager $24.99 236 71% 7.1k $177k (exactly $176,929) THE TINY DIGITAL FACTORY, IMV STUDIO
Heavy Cargo - The Truck Simulator $24.99 222 53% 6.7k $166k (exactly $166,433) tox² interactive GmbH
Snow Ash $14.99 179 73% 5.4k $80k (exactly $80,496) Ember Studio
Toll Booth Simulator $12.99 91 71% 2.7k $35k (exactly $35,463) SifDev
Team Principal: A Racing Manager · EA $12.99 86 93% 2.6k $34k (exactly $33,514) Patrick H
Open Wheel Manager 2 $9.99 104 72% 3.1k $31k (exactly $31,169) Paprikash Games

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