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Should I ship a Roguelite Driving game?
Driving + Roguelite
Of 30 developers who shipped a Roguelite Driving 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.. 75 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×2016 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 75 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) |
| Top 25% | $42k (exactly $41,658) |
| Top 5% | $1.3M (exactly $1,266,355) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 30 |
| Released games | 59 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Driving, Roguelite; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Arcade
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 12,334 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Driving with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Survival HorrorFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MusicFair
- + ThrillerFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + LogicFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + AutomationPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Jalopy | older | $14.99 | 9,020 78% | 271k | $4.1M (exactly $4,056,294) | Minskworks |
| | Samson | $24.99 | 2,911 54% | 87k | $2.2M (exactly $2,182,377) | Liquid Swords | |
| | FUMES | · EA | $14.99 | 2,816 95% | 84k | $1.3M (exactly $1,266,355) | FUMES team |
| | Wanderburg | · EA | $14.99 | 2,103 78% | 63k | $946k (exactly $945,719) | Randwerk |
| | UNDER the SAND - a road trip simulator | older | $19.99 | 1,556 78% | 47k | $933k (exactly $933,133) | IndieMax |
| | Carmageddon: Rogue Shift | $39.99 | 752 62% | 23k | $902k (exactly $902,174) | 34BigThings srl | |
| | Badlands Crew - Drive, Command, Conquer | $18.99 | 1,126 78% | 34k | $641k (exactly $641,482) | Runner Duck | |
| | TerraTech Legion | $9.99 | 2,109 81% | 63k | $632k (exactly $632,067) | Payload Studios | |
| | Bloody Rally Show | older | $19.99 | 248 89% | 7.4k | $149k (exactly $148,726) | Kodo Linija |
| | Gearshifters | older | $24.99 | 85 80% | 2.6k | $64k (exactly $63,724) | Red Phantom Games |
| | PROFITS 2167: Planetary Resource Optimization & Freight Infrastructure Technician Simulator | · EA | $6.99 | 209 98% | 6.3k | $44k (exactly $43,827) | Simple Software Solutions |
| | Zombie Rollerz: The Last Ship | $9.99 | 139 75% | 4.2k | $42k (exactly $41,658) | Zing Games Inc., 紫英互娱 | |
| | Driveloop: Survivors | · EA | $9.99 | 96 76% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $28,771) | Stunbyte |
| | REDLINE CROOKS | $11.99 | 73 100% | 2.2k | $26k (exactly $26,258) | Alexander Golke |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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