Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Board Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Board Game?

Level Editor + Board Game

Of 26 developers who shipped a Level Editor Board 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.. 40 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 40 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 260% on the market, 40 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Board Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $419 → $210 → $3.4k → $90 → $479 → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Board Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,356)
Top 5% $27k (exactly $26,863)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 84
Announced 40
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 260% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Board Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Level Editor, Board Game; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Turn-Based Strategy, Hex Grid
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 361 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $480, 1 in 4 over $3.3k, 1 in 20 over $26k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Multiple EndingsFair17 devs · median $8.1k · 23 announced
  2. + Hidden ObjectFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $3.4k · 17 announced
  4. + Time AttackFair12 devs · median $748 · 14 announced
  5. + IdlerFair19 devs · median $719 · 12 announced
  6. + Score AttackFair51 devs · median $598 · 62 announced
  7. + AutomationLong shot27 devs · median $300 · 32 announced
  8. + TransportationPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  9. + TrainsPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 11 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds22 devs · median $43k · 46 announced
  11. + City BuilderPoor odds20 devs · median $24k · 50 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds36 devs · median $19k · 111 announced

All 136 pairs on the Level Editor page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

TaleSpire 2021 · EA · $3.3M Hex of Steel 2020 · $647k Dark Quest 2 2018 · $163k Valor & Victory 2021 · $98k Attack at Dawn: North Africa 2022 · $91k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
TaleSpire · EA older $24.99 4,391 89% 132k $3.3M (exactly $3,291,933) Bouncyrock Entertainment
Hex of Steel older $24.99 863 95% 26k $647k (exactly $646,991) War Frogs Studio
Dark Quest 2 older $8.99 605 84% 18k $163k (exactly $163,168) Brain Seal Ltd
Valor & Victory older $19.99 163 69% 4.9k $98k (exactly $97,751) Yobowargames
Attack at Dawn: North Africa older $29.99 101 87% 3.0k $91k (exactly $90,870) Panzer Division Games
Dark Quest 4 $19.99 136 75% 4.1k $82k (exactly $81,559) Brain Seal Ltd
卡牌缔造者-CardMaker older $9.99 207 66% 6.2k $62k (exactly $62,038) oldhc
Radiis older $14.99 95 90% 2.9k $43k (exactly $42,722) Urban Goose Games
RPG Stories · EA older $29.99 36 77% 1.1k $32k (exactly $32,389) Brave Alice Games
Tactical Annihilation $15.99 56 98% 1.7k $27k (exactly $26,863) B.G. Game Studio
Qianli: The Vastscape Scroll $9.99 79 86% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,676) Betobe Studio
HexaScape: Cyber Defense $14.99 15 100% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) Clockwork Origins
Rated Sudoku $9.99 15 80% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Sand Games
UniWar $7.99 14 71% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Spooky House
Shogi $7.99 14 71% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Popoko VM Games
Sente $7.99 11 100% 330 $2.6k (exactly $2,637) Oxobox Games Studios
Broken Front $4.99 8 87% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) KOArtist Games
Dunchess · EA $2.99 13 100% 390 $1.2k (exactly $1,166) Chateau Pixel SL

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