Games › Basketball › Basketball + Management
Should I ship a Management Basketball game?
Basketball + Management
Only 16 developers shipped a Management Basketball game 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, NBA 2K26, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 16 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $330; 1 in 20 cleared $53M, ×35954 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 16 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $330 (exactly $330) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) |
| Top 25% | $29k (exactly $28,771) |
| Top 5% | $54M (exactly $53,859,405) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 38 |
| Announced | 16 |
| 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 down 80% on the market, supply 55% 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.
- Basketball
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Management
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Basketball, Management; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Immersive Sim, Simulation, Sports
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 66% positive over 28,579 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $330. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Basketball with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + PvPFair
- + SimulationFair
- + PhysicsLong shot
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Local MultiplayerPoor odds
- + StrategyPoor odds
- + SportsPoor odds
- + ActionPoor odds
- + ArcadePoor odds
- + AdventureDead
- + Immersive SimDead
- + PlatformerDead
Comparable games
NBA 2K25 2024 · $65M 
NBA 2K26 2025 · $54M 
NBA 2K27 2026 · $3.6M 
Hoop Land 2025 · EA · $316k 
Pro Basketball Manager 2025 2024 · $127k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | NBA 2K25 | older | $69.99 | 30,969 60% | 929k | $65M (exactly $65,025,609) | Visual Concepts |
| | NBA 2K26 | $69.99 | 25,651 66% | 770k | $54M (exactly $53,859,405) | Visual Concepts | |
| | NBA 2K27 | $69.99 | 1,698 53% | 51k | $3.6M (exactly $3,565,291) | Visual Concepts | |
| | Hoop Land | · EA | $14.99 | 702 96% | 21k | $316k (exactly $315,689) | Koality Game |
| | Pro Basketball Manager 2025 | $24.99 | 169 68% | 5.1k | $127k (exactly $126,699) | Umix Studios | |
 | Pro Basketball Manager 2026 | $29.99 | 121 69% | 3.6k | $109k (exactly $108,864) | Umix Studios | |
 | Pro Basketball Manager 2024 | older | $19.99 | 155 69% | 4.7k | $93k (exactly $92,954) | Umix Studios |
 | International Basketball Manager 23 | older | $14.99 | 188 85% | 5.6k | $85k (exactly $84,544) | UPLAY Basketball |
 | Pro Basketball Manager 2023 | older | $14.99 | 150 72% | 4.5k | $67k (exactly $67,455) | Umix Studios |
 | International Basketball Manager 22 | older | $9.99 | 218 86% | 6.5k | $65k (exactly $65,335) | UPLAY Basketball |
 | SEX Sport College 💦🏅 | $9.99 | 96 86% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $28,771) | Play and Cum 💦 | |
 | Full Court Heroes | · EA | $15.99 | 26 38% | 780 | $12k (exactly $12,472) | Tireswing Games |
 | Campus Legends College Basketball | · EA | $4.99 | 81 92% | 2.4k | $12k (exactly $12,126) | Breakaway Interactive |
 | College Basketball Manager | · EA | $9.99 | 20 100% | 600 | $6.0k (exactly $5,994) | Lunacien |
 | Swish Ball Clicker | $7.99 | 15 53% | 450 | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) | Broad Street Indie 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.