Games › Basketball › Basketball + Sports
Should I ship a Sports Basketball game?
Basketball + Sports
Of 62 developers who shipped a Sports 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.. 63 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×0.9 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $330; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×85 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 63 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $330 (exactly $330) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,126) |
| Top 5% | $127k (exactly $126,699) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 62 |
| Released games | 197 |
| Announced | 63 |
| 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 45% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- Sports
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Basketball, Sports; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, PvP, Local Multiplayer
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 67% positive over 30,011 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $330. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 44 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
- + ManagementPoor odds
- + StrategyPoor odds
- + ActionPoor odds
- + ArcadePoor odds
- + AdventureDead
- + Immersive SimDead
- + PlatformerDead
Comparable games
NBA 2K25 2024 · $65M 
NBA 2K26 2025 · $54M 
NBA 2K27 2026 · $3.6M 
Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash 2024 · $1.9M 
NBA THE RUN 2026 · $810k | 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 | |
| | Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash | older | $44.99 | 1,429 75% | 43k | $1.9M (exactly $1,928,721) | Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works |
| | NBA THE RUN | $29.99 | 900 68% | 27k | $810k (exactly $809,730) | Play by Play Studios | |
 | 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 | |
 | Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports | $49.99 | 34 79% | 1.0k | $51k (exactly $50,990) | Bamtang Games | |
 | KUNKUN Defender 2 | $4.99 | 294 94% | 8.8k | $44k (exactly $44,012) | Seal | |
 | Midnight Hoops | $3.49 | 262 89% | 7.9k | $27k (exactly $27,431) | netshrub |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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