Games › Third-Person Shooter › Third-Person Shooter + Driving
Should I ship a Driving Third-Person Shooter?
Third-Person Shooter + Driving
Of 42 developers who shipped a Driving Third-Person Shooter 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.. 97 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $630k, ×422 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 97 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) |
| Top 25% | $10k (exactly $10,343) |
| Top 5% | $632k (exactly $632,067) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 42 |
| Released games | 133 |
| Announced | 97 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Third-Person Shooter
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Driving
- effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling feel is tuned by hand
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Third-Person Shooter, Driving; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Combat
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 71% positive over 10,313 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 97 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Third-Person Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RhythmStrong odds
- + WesternFair
- + CollectathonLong shot
- + Time ManagementLong shot
- + Walking SimulatorLong shot
- + Class-BasedPoor odds
- + Creature CollectorPoor odds
- + DinosaursPoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
- + Alternate HistoryPoor odds
- + Level EditorPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 |
| | Just Cause 4 Reloaded | older | $39.64 | 23,358 63% | 701k | $28M (exactly $27,777,334) | Avalanche Studios |
| | Watch Dogs®: Legion | older | $59.99 | 11,891 56% | 357k | $21M (exactly $21,400,233) | Ubisoft Toronto |
| | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition | older | $59.99 | 9,037 82% | 271k | $16M (exactly $16,263,889) | Rockstar Games |
| | Flashing Lights - Police, Firefighting, Emergency Services (EMS) Simulator | older | $24.99 | 16,166 80% | 485k | $12M (exactly $12,119,650) | Nils Jakrins |
| | STAR WARS™: Battlefront Classic Collection | older | $35.01 | 7,125 23% | 214k | $7.5M (exactly $7,483,388) | Aspyr |
| | Saints Row | older | $29.99 | 5,765 61% | 173k | $5.2M (exactly $5,186,770) | Volition |
| | Mafia | older | $14.99 | 8,896 90% | 267k | $4.0M (exactly $4,000,531) | Illusion Softworks |
| | MindsEye | $34.99 | 2,855 48% | 86k | $3.0M (exactly $2,996,894) | Build A Rocket Boy | |
| | FUMES | · EA | $14.99 | 2,816 95% | 84k | $1.3M (exactly $1,266,355) | FUMES team |
| | TerraTech Legion | $9.99 | 2,109 81% | 63k | $632k (exactly $632,067) | Payload Studios | |
| | Vivat Slovakia | $19.99 | 827 50% | 25k | $496k (exactly $495,952) | Team Vivat | |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks | $19.99 | 493 85% | 15k | $296k (exactly $295,652) | Caged Element | |
| | Emergency Call - The Firefighting Simulation 3 | · EA | $24.99 | 370 71% | 11k | $277k (exactly $277,389) | Crenetic GmbH Studios |
| | The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire | · EA | $18.99 | 385 81% | 12k | $219k (exactly $219,334) | BEF GAMES |
| | Highway Police Simulator | $27.99 | 242 30% | 7.3k | $203k (exactly $203,207) | Z-Software | |
| | BeastLink | · EA | $19.99 | 187 45% | 5.6k | $112k (exactly $112,144) | Grove Street Games |
| | THE DARK SIDE OF CECLON | $14.99 | 29 86% | 870 | $13k (exactly $13,041) | SOLIDS Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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