Games › Basketball › Basketball + Simulation
Should I ship a Simulation Basketball game?
Basketball + Simulation
Of 34 developers who shipped a Simulation Basketball game 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.. 31 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×0.9 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 31 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,349) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,472) |
| Top 5% | $316k (exactly $315,689) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 109 |
| Announced | 31 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $10.99 |
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 170% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, 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
- Simulation
- 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, Simulation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sports, Local Multiplayer, Management
- Price point
- $10.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.
The top 10 games average 66% positive over 28,881 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Basketball with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + PvPFair
- + PhysicsLong shot
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Local MultiplayerPoor odds
- + ManagementPoor 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 
All-In-One Sports VR 2023 · $420k 
New Retro Arcade: Neon 2016 · $347k | 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 | |
| | All-In-One Sports VR | older | $19.99 | 700 84% | 21k | $420k (exactly $419,790) | Appnori Inc. |
| | New Retro Arcade: Neon | older | $19.99 | 579 78% | 17k | $347k (exactly $347,226) | Digital Cybercherries |
 | 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 | |
 | Clutchtime™: Basketball Deckbuilder | $19.99 | 180 77% | 5.4k | $108k (exactly $107,946) | Bigosaur | |
 | Pro Basketball Manager 2024 | older | $19.99 | 155 69% | 4.7k | $93k (exactly $92,954) | Umix Studios |
 | Midnight Hoops | $3.49 | 262 89% | 7.9k | $27k (exactly $27,431) | netshrub | |
 | International Basketball Manager 26 | $19.99 | 37 72% | 1.1k | $22k (exactly $22,189) | UPLAY Basketball | |
 | Lacrosse 26 | $34.99 | 17 88% | 510 | $18k (exactly $17,845) | Crosse Studios | |
 | Rebounding Life - Season 1 | $12.99 | 44 79% | 1.3k | $17k (exactly $17,147) | SuperWriter |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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