Games › Combat Racing › Combat Racing + Physics
Should I ship a Physics Combat Racing game?
Combat Racing + Physics
Of 77 developers who shipped a Physics 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.. 149 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 45 developers shipped in the last year and 149 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $449 (exactly $449) |
| Top 25% | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) |
| Top 5% | $34k (exactly $34,166) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 77 |
| Released games | 246 |
| Announced | 149 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 25% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Physics
- effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Combat Racing, Physics; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Arcade, Racing, Driving
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 6,371 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 40 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 149 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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
Wreckfest 2 2025 · EA · $5.9M 
FlatOut 2 2006 · $5.8M 
FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage Collector's Edition 2008 · $4.0M 
SimplePlanes 2015 · $3.8M 
Uncrashed : FPV Drone Simulator 2021 · $3.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Wreckfest 2 | · EA | $34.99 | 5,578 73% | 167k | $5.9M (exactly $5,855,227) | Bugbear |
| | 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) |
| | SimplePlanes | older | $12.99 | 9,811 93% | 294k | $3.8M (exactly $3,823,347) | Jundroo, LLC |
| | Uncrashed : FPV Drone Simulator | older | $14.99 | 7,770 95% | 233k | $3.5M (exactly $3,494,169) | Luminite |
 | TRAIL OUT | older | $19.99 | 3,019 81% | 91k | $1.8M (exactly $1,810,494) | GOOD BOYS |
 | FlatOut 4: Total Insanity | older | $29.99 | 1,938 53% | 58k | $1.7M (exactly $1,743,619) | Kylotonn |
 | Carmageddon: Max Damage | older | $16.99 | 2,659 79% | 80k | $1.4M (exactly $1,355,292) | Stainless Games Ltd |
 | FlatOut | older | $7.49 | 5,870 91% | 176k | $1.3M (exactly $1,318,989) | Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Me… (Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Media, Jordan Freeman Group) |
 | Make Way | older | $14.99 | 1,615 91% | 48k | $726k (exactly $726,266) | Ice BEAM |
 | Recharge: Room Games | · EA | $19.99 | 313 67% | 9.4k | $188k (exactly $187,706) | Room Games |
 | Slip & Skid | $12.99 | 141 97% | 4.2k | $55k (exactly $54,948) | NHOGS Interactive | |
 | Pocket Cars | $9.99 | 114 87% | 3.4k | $34k (exactly $34,166) | Gen90Software | |
 | Pest Apocalypse | $9.99 | 75 94% | 2.3k | $22k (exactly $22,478) | Kikimora Games | |
 | Speed Demons 2 | $14.99 | 26 92% | 780 | $12k (exactly $11,692) | Radiangames | |
 | Short Oval Simulator | · EA | $17.99 | 19 94% | 570 | $10k (exactly $10,254) | Dangerous Derk Interactive |
 | Drift Gang | $4.99 | 55 54% | 1.7k | $8.2k (exactly $8,234) | Beaked Games | |
 | Crafty Racer | · EA | $14.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $4.9k (exactly $4,947) | Peterclark |
 | PULLBACK RACERS | $3.99 | 39 94% | 1.2k | $4.7k (exactly $4,668) | SkyBrave, blazitt, Gevizz |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.