Do I ship it?

GamesDrivingDriving + RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Driving RPG?

Driving + RPG

Of 42 developers who shipped a Driving RPG 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.. 84 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $13k, ×21 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $3.3M, ×5318 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 84 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 20.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 84 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Driving + RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $24k → $2.9k → $148k → $3.8k → $19k → $101k → $6.6k (still earning) → $25k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Driving + RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $2.7k (exactly $2,726)
Median $13k (exactly $13,041)
Top 25% $143k (exactly $142,729)
Top 5% $3.3M (exactly $3,339,664)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 137
Announced 84
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 20% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Driving
effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling feel is tuned by hand
RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Driving, RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Open World, Adventure, Simulation
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 118,806 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.8k, median $13k, 1 in 4 over $140k, 1 in 20 over $3.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.8k. 6 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 84 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Split ScreenFair54 devs · median $6.0k · 56 announced
  2. + Psychological HorrorFair35 devs · median $5.9k · 43 announced
  3. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $5.5k · 18 announced
  4. + Survival HorrorFair20 devs · median $4.9k · 25 announced
  5. + World War IIFair8 devs · median $4.2k · 9 announced
  6. + MusicFair8 devs · median $2.4k · 10 announced
  7. + ThrillerFair18 devs · median $2.0k · 21 announced
  8. + Interactive FictionFair12 devs · median $1.2k · 13 announced
  9. + LogicFair30 devs · median $958 · 29 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair26 devs · median $897 · 23 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds82 devs · median $48k · 157 announced
  12. + AutomationPoor odds24 devs · median $44k · 36 announced

All 130 pairs on the Driving page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Forza Horizon 6 $69.99 86,730 82% 2.6M $182M (exactly $182,106,981) Playground Games
Mad Max older $19.99 57,651 91% 1.7M $35M (exactly $34,573,305) Avalanche Studios
Mafia II (Classic) older $29.99 36,389 92% 1.1M $33M (exactly $32,739,183) 2K Czech
Watch_Dogs™ older $19.99 49,193 79% 1.5M $30M (exactly $29,501,042) Ubisoft
Tokyo Xtreme Racer $49.99 15,284 93% 459k $23M (exactly $22,921,415) Genki Co., Ltd.
Watch Dogs®: Legion older $59.99 11,891 56% 357k $21M (exactly $21,400,233) Ubisoft Toronto
Flashing Lights - Police, Firefighting, Emergency Services (EMS) Simulator older $24.99 16,166 80% 485k $12M (exactly $12,119,650) Nils Jakrins
Cloudpunk older $19.99 13,788 87% 414k $8.3M (exactly $8,268,664) ION LANDS
Keep Driving $17.99 6,188 93% 186k $3.3M (exactly $3,339,664) YCJY Games
MindsEye $34.99 2,855 48% 86k $3.0M (exactly $2,996,894) Build A Rocket Boy
Promise Mascot Agency $24.99 2,569 96% 77k $1.9M (exactly $1,925,979) Kaizen Game Works
Wanderburg · EA $14.99 2,103 78% 63k $946k (exactly $945,719) Randwerk
Outbreak Island · EA $14.99 955 78% 29k $429k (exactly $429,464) Tiny Magicians
It's Only Money $24.99 473 78% 14k $355k (exactly $354,608) Usual Suspects Studios
Dustland Delivery $7.99 1,264 88% 38k $303k (exactly $302,981) Neutron Star Studio
The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire · EA $18.99 385 81% 12k $219k (exactly $219,334) BEF GAMES

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