Do I ship it?

GamesBasketballBasketball + Physics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Physics Basketball game?

Basketball + Physics

Only 19 developers shipped a Physics 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, Hoop Land, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced.

Verdict: long shot, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×211 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 25 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 25 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Basketball + Physics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.1k → $120 → $537 → $779 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Basketball + Physics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $537 (exactly $537)
Top 25% $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Top 5% $316k (exactly $315,689)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 53
Announced 25
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 30% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Basketball
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Physics
effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Basketball, Physics; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sports, Local Multiplayer, PvP
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 837 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $540, 1 in 4 over $1.3k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. All of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Basketball with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + PvPFair25 devs · median $2.6k · 28 announced
  2. + SimulationFair34 devs · median $1.3k · 31 announced
  3. + Character CustomizationPoor odds12 devs · median $6.0k · 23 announced
  4. + Local MultiplayerPoor odds17 devs · median $3.9k · 7 announced
  5. + ManagementPoor odds16 devs · median $3.6k · 16 announced
  6. + StrategyPoor odds20 devs · median $1.3k · 20 announced
  7. + SportsPoor odds62 devs · median $1.3k · 63 announced
  8. + ActionPoor odds23 devs · median $1.2k · 32 announced
  9. + ArcadePoor odds31 devs · median $719 · 32 announced
  10. + AdventureDead8 devs · median $5.7k · 10 announced
  11. + Immersive SimDead10 devs · median $3.6k · 13 announced
  12. + PlatformerDead9 devs · median $899 · 5 announced

All 12 pairs on the Basketball page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
FlatOut 2 older $9.99 19,466 95% 584k $5.8M (exactly $5,833,960) Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Me… (Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Media, Jordan Freeman Group)
All-In-One Sports VR older $19.99 700 84% 21k $420k (exactly $419,790) Appnori Inc.
Hoop Land · EA $14.99 702 96% 21k $316k (exactly $315,689) Koality Game
Pile Up! Box by Box older $14.99 63 92% 1.9k $28k (exactly $28,331) Seed by Seed
Blacktop Hoops older $29.99 18 77% 540 $16k (exactly $16,195) Vinci Games
TAGLINE older $9.99 52 92% 1.6k $16k (exactly $15,584) NOTH
Third Person Basketball Court · EA $6.99 67 86% 2.0k $14k (exactly $14,050) kuroki-gaming
Hooptown Hero $7.99 17 58% 510 $4.1k (exactly $4,075) Goin' Yumbo
The Dunkers $9.99 13 92% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) UO 5 rusa
First Person Hooper older $4.99 24 95% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) Ejo
Jaxx Blorgin's UFO Jam $4.99 9 100% 270 $1.3k (exactly $1,347) Wax Lion
Mike the Hooper $3.99 10 100% 300 $1.2k (exactly $1,197) Steel Arrow
Shoot Up Basketball Pro $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) mindoverloadgames
BasketBlow $12.99 2 100% 60 $779 (exactly $779) Ledicia Interactiva
Average Human Ball Game $4.99 5 100% 150 $748 (exactly $748) Ultra Hypa Studios
Clash of Peaks: Dynasty in Your Grasp $1.99 9 100% 270 $537 (exactly $537) Developers

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