Do I ship it?

Games › Crafting › Crafting + Level Editor

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crafting Level Editor game?

Crafting + Level Editor

Of 39 developers who shipped a Crafting Level Editor 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.. 59 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $630, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×304 the market median. Revenue is up 565% on the market; 59 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 565% on the market, 59 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Crafting + Level Editor
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 39
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $807 → $300 → $119 → $29k → $628 → $419 → $5.7k (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Crafting + Level Editor: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 39
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $628 (exactly $628)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $11,826)
Top 5% $191k (exactly $191,174)
Developers, 2 yr 39
Released games 124
Announced 59
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 565% on the market, supply 125% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Crafting
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Crafting, Level Editor; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sandbox, Simulation, Building
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 56% positive over 7,206 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $630, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $190k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  2. + SportsFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Turn-BasedFair16 devs · median $17k · 24 announced
  4. + IdlerFair235 devs · median $1.7k · 338 announced
  5. + SolitaireFair12 devs · median $809 · 20 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds17 devs · median $174k · 39 announced
  7. + MMORPGPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $90k · 50 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds160 devs · median $77k · 369 announced
  10. + WesternPoor odds13 devs · median $69k · 23 announced
  11. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds17 devs · median $39k · 30 announced

All 200 pairs on the Crafting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing 2018 · $8.2M Poly Bridge 2016 · $5.1M SPORE™ Galactic Adventures 2009 · $4.3M Poly Bridge 2 2020 · $3.5M TaleSpire 2021 · EA · $3.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing older $19.99 13,633 95% 409k $8.2M (exactly $8,175,710) LuGus Studios
Poly Bridge older $9.99 17,107 91% 513k $5.1M (exactly $5,126,968) Dry Cactus
SPORE™ Galactic Adventures older $19.99 7,249 89% 217k $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) EA - Maxis
Poly Bridge 2 older $14.99 7,875 95% 236k $3.5M (exactly $3,541,388) Dry Cactus
TaleSpire · EA older $24.99 4,391 89% 132k $3.3M (exactly $3,291,933) Bouncyrock Entertainment
Factory Town older $19.99 4,142 90% 124k $2.5M (exactly $2,483,957) Erik Asmussen
s&box $9.99 5,118 46% 154k $1.5M (exactly $1,533,865) Facepunch Studios
Poly Bridge 3 older $19.99 2,069 96% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,240,779) Dry Cactus
Fantasy Map Simulator · EA older $7.99 4,190 89% 126k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) The Stranger
Shadwen older $16.99 1,049 77% 31k $535k (exactly $534,675) Frozenbyte
Overthrown $24.99 255 55% 7.7k $191k (exactly $191,174) Brimstone
CFS (Chinese Football Simulator) $9.99 290 67% 8.7k $87k (exactly $86,913) 悟空实验室
Sailaway III $15.99 158 68% 4.7k $76k (exactly $75,793) Orbcreation BV
Voxile · EA $17.99 78 69% 2.3k $42k (exactly $42,097) VoxRay Games, Inc.
Sandboxels $0.99 1,108 94% 33k $33k (exactly $32,908) R74n
Portalborn · EA $9.99 72 93% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,578) TheHand
XFlight: FPV Drone Simulator $24.99 24 79% 720 $18k (exactly $17,993) Lingsrealm Technology
Hazard Pay $16.99 24 100% 720 $12k (exactly $12,233) Smitner Studio
Color Factory: Automation Meets Canvas $4.99 79 87% 2.4k $12k (exactly $11,826) Bosphorus Games

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