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Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Combat Racing game?
Combat Racing + Local Multiplayer
Of 44 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer Combat 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.. 79 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×572 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 79 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $897 (exactly $897) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,682) |
| Top 5% | $359k (exactly $359,220) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 44 |
| Released games | 155 |
| Announced | 79 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 up 10% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Combat Racing
- effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle physics plus weapons and AI drivers
- Local Multiplayer
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Combat Racing, Local Multiplayer; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Racing, PvP, Split Screen
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 13,916 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Combat Racing with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + CollectathonFair
- + SandboxFair
- + PlatformerFair
- + RhythmFair
- + ParkourFair
- + RPGFair
- + 2D PlatformerLong shot
- + Beat 'em upLong shot
- + SurvivalPoor odds
- + Post-apocalypticPoor odds
- + DystopianPoor odds
- + Split ScreenPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds | $69.99 | 11,479 93% | 344k | $24M (exactly $24,102,456) | Sonic Team | |
| | Road Redemption | older | $19.99 | 10,842 83% | 325k | $6.5M (exactly $6,501,947) | Redemption Road, Pixel Dash Studios |
| | 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) |
| | FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage Collector's Edition | older | $19.99 | 6,747 89% | 202k | $4.0M (exactly $4,046,176) | Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Me… (Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Media, Jordan Freeman Group) |
| | GRIP: Combat Racing | older | $29.99 | 3,669 86% | 110k | $3.3M (exactly $3,300,999) | Caged Element |
| | TRAIL OUT | older | $19.99 | 3,019 81% | 91k | $1.8M (exactly $1,810,494) | GOOD BOYS |
| | Split/Second | older | $19.99 | 1,683 80% | 50k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,295) | Black Rock Studio |
| | The Karters 2: Turbo Charged | · EA | $29.99 | 1,043 91% | 31k | $938k (exactly $938,387) | Pixel Edge Games |
| | Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing | older | $9.99 | 2,641 88% | 79k | $792k (exactly $791,508) | Sumo Digital |
| | Make Way | older | $14.99 | 1,615 91% | 48k | $726k (exactly $726,266) | Ice BEAM |
| | Victory Heat Rally | $19.99 | 599 88% | 18k | $359k (exactly $359,220) | Skydevilpalm | |
| | XF Extreme Formula | $11.99 | 366 90% | 11k | $132k (exactly $131,650) | Feperd Games | |
| | TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials | $39.99 | 93 78% | 2.8k | $112k (exactly $111,572) | 3DClouds | |
| | Slip & Skid | $12.99 | 141 97% | 4.2k | $55k (exactly $54,948) | NHOGS Interactive | |
| | Moorhuhn Kart 4 | $19.99 | 90 86% | 2.7k | $54k (exactly $53,973) | Korion Interactive | |
| | Race Jam | $19.99 | 36 97% | 1.1k | $22k (exactly $21,589) | DiffGames LLC | |
| | Matchbox™ Driving Adventures | $39.99 | 16 81% | 480 | $19k (exactly $19,195) | Casual Brothers Ltd. | |
| | Mythic Kart Maker | · EA | $11.99 | 53 83% | 1.6k | $19k (exactly $19,064) | Dream Mix Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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