Do I ship it?

GamesRacingRacing + Building

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Building Racing game?

Racing + Building

Of 43 developers who shipped a Building Racing 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.. 56 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $9.0k, ×14 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $2.4M, ×3829 the market median. Revenue is up 1110% on the market; 56 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 14.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 1110% on the market, 56 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Racing + Building
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $72k → $57k → $270 → $10k → $4.9k → $60k (still earning) → $68k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Racing + Building: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $9.0k (exactly $8,963)
Top 25% $72k (exactly $71,952)
Top 5% $2.4M (exactly $2,404,797)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 137
Announced 56
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $12.99

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 1110% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Racing
effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling, track content and opponent AI
Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Racing, Building; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Driving, Automobile Sim, Open World
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 138,918 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $9.0k, 1 in 4 over $71k, 1 in 20 over $2.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + CapitalismStrong odds14 devs · median $8.6k · 7 announced
  2. + ModernFair32 devs · median $3.3k · 34 announced
  3. + TransportationFair39 devs · median $2.3k · 35 announced
  4. + AutomationFair11 devs · median $1.9k · 12 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair8 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  6. + Time AttackFair44 devs · median $748 · 42 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair11 devs · median $657 · 10 announced
  8. + Time ManipulationFair10 devs · median $599 · 12 announced
  9. + IdlerFair19 devs · median $505 · 13 announced
  10. + Choices MatterFair51 devs · median $449 · 54 announced
  11. + City BuilderLong shot12 devs · median $299 · 9 announced
  12. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds14 devs · median $34k · 37 announced

All 165 pairs on the Racing page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
My Summer Car $14.99 108,503 94% 3.3M $49M (exactly $48,793,799) Amistech Games
Brick Rigs older $19.99 53,749 95% 1.6M $32M (exactly $32,233,275) Fluppisoft GmbH
Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 older $19.99 48,366 91% 1.5M $29M (exactly $29,005,090) Red Dot Games
Trailmakers older $24.99 33,465 92% 1.0M $25M (exactly $25,088,710) Flashbulb
Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game · EA older $29.99 16,815 93% 504k $15M (exactly $15,128,456) Camshaft Software Ltd
Mon Bazou $15.99 19,922 97% 598k $9.6M (exactly $9,556,583) Santa Goat
Car Mechanic Simulator 2015 older $19.99 12,078 92% 362k $7.2M (exactly $7,243,177) Red Dot Games
SimplePlanes older $12.99 9,811 93% 294k $3.8M (exactly $3,823,347) Jundroo, LLC
Expeditions: A MudRunner Game older $39.99 3,000 59% 90k $3.6M (exactly $3,599,100) Saber Interactive
My Garage $19.99 4,010 90% 120k $2.4M (exactly $2,404,797) Viking Game Studio
Car Service Together · EA $19.99 3,589 79% 108k $2.2M (exactly $2,152,323) V12 Studio
SimplePlanes 2 · EA $19.99 1,316 92% 39k $789k (exactly $789,205) Jundroo, LLC
Wreckreation $39.99 360 63% 11k $432k (exactly $431,892) Three Fields Entertainment
Underground Garage $14.99 646 63% 19k $291k (exactly $290,506) BeardedBrothers.games
Rally Mechanic Simulator $17.99 195 69% 5.9k $105k (exactly $105,241) Play2Chill S.A., Atomic Jelly
BeaterCore $9.99 322 82% 9.7k $97k (exactly $96,503) Artem Arbatsky
HOT WHEELS™ Infinite Rush $49.99 55 65% 1.7k $82k (exactly $82,484) Milestone S.r.l.

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