Games › Automobile Sim › Automobile Sim + Survival
Should I ship a Survival Automobile Sim?
Automobile Sim + Survival
Of 26 developers who shipped a Survival 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.. 72 more are announced, ×4.0 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 $960; 1 in 20 cleared $13M, ×8960 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 72 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $959 (exactly $959) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) |
| Top 25% | $80k (exactly $80,496) |
| Top 5% | $13M (exactly $13,421,879) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 72 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $14.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 100% 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
- Survival
- 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, Survival; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Open World, Driving
- Price point
- $14.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Realistic, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 147,584 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $960. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 72 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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
My Summer Car 2025 · $49M 
Mad Max 2015 · $35M 
The Long Drive 2019 · EA · $24M 
Contraband Police 2023 · $22M 
Drive Beyond Horizons 2025 · EA · $13M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | My Summer Car | $14.99 | 108,503 94% | 3.3M | $49M (exactly $48,793,799) | Amistech Games | |
| | 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 |
| | Contraband Police | older | $29.99 | 24,882 95% | 746k | $22M (exactly $22,386,335) | Crazy Rocks |
| | Drive Beyond Horizons | · EA | $24.99 | 17,903 77% | 537k | $13M (exactly $13,421,879) | Drive Beyond Horizons |
 | My Winter Car | · EA | $14.99 | 18,614 94% | 558k | $8.4M (exactly $8,370,716) | Amistech Games |
 | Jalopy | older | $14.99 | 9,020 78% | 271k | $4.1M (exactly $4,056,294) | Minskworks |
 | Star Trucker | older | $24.99 | 4,928 77% | 148k | $3.7M (exactly $3,694,522) | Monster and Monster |
 | Alaskan Road Truckers | older | $21.99 | 2,711 62% | 81k | $1.8M (exactly $1,788,447) | Road Studio S.A. |
 | UNDER the SAND - a road trip simulator | older | $19.99 | 1,556 78% | 47k | $933k (exactly $933,133) | IndieMax |
 | Caravanners | · EA | $17.99 | 712 35% | 21k | $384k (exactly $384,266) | Akif Akdemir |
 | The Slaverian Trucker | $11.99 | 789 85% | 24k | $284k (exactly $283,803) | SawyerK Games | |
 | A Merchant's Promise | · EA | $14.99 | 300 86% | 9.0k | $135k (exactly $134,910) | Game Draft Studio |
 | 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 | |
 | Driving Life | $14.99 | 174 55% | 5.2k | $78k (exactly $78,248) | Chrysopy Games | |
 | Nightmare Drive | · EA | $14.99 | 156 78% | 4.7k | $70k (exactly $70,153) | Voidfiller |
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.