Games › Racing › Racing + Dystopian
Should I ship a Dystopian Racing game?
Racing + Dystopian
Of 24 developers who shipped a Dystopian 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.. 41 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $1.8M, ×2978 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 41 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,698) |
| Top 25% | $29k (exactly $28,540) |
| Top 5% | $1.9M (exactly $1,869,888) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 51 |
| Announced | 41 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 down 75% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- Racing; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Driving
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Third Person, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 20,051 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Racing with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + CapitalismStrong odds
- + ModernFair
- + TransportationFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Time ManipulationFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + City BuilderLong shot
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Le Mans Ultimate | $39.99 | 15,068 79% | 452k | $18M (exactly $18,077,080) | Studio 397 | |
| | Screamer | $59.99 | 1,039 80% | 31k | $1.9M (exactly $1,869,888) | Milestone S.r.l. | |
| | Denshattack! | $19.99 | 2,910 98% | 87k | $1.7M (exactly $1,745,127) | Undercoders | |
| | Pacer | older | $39.99 | 576 72% | 17k | $691k (exactly $691,027) | R8 Games Ltd |
| | XF Extreme Formula | $11.99 | 366 90% | 11k | $132k (exactly $131,650) | Feperd Games | |
| | Retrowave 2 | $4.99 | 449 88% | 13k | $67k (exactly $67,215) | RewindApp | |
| | Gearshifters | older | $24.99 | 85 80% | 2.6k | $64k (exactly $63,724) | Red Phantom Games |
| | CyberTaxi | older | $9.99 | 178 64% | 5.3k | $53k (exactly $53,347) | Projects from Basement |
| | CyberTaxi: Lunatic Nights | · EA | $13.99 | 68 55% | 2.0k | $29k (exactly $28,540) | Hed Media Games |
| | SWORDCAR | · EA older | $4.99 | 92 96% | 2.8k | $14k (exactly $13,772) | SpaceMicroscope Studios |
| | Cyber Clutch: Hot Import Nights | $19.99 | 21 61% | 630 | $13k (exactly $12,594) | Gunpowder Games, Focuspoint Studios | |
| | Synthwave Driver | · EA | $2.99 | 107 86% | 3.2k | $9.6k (exactly $9,598) | Runebox Studios |
| | Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit | $24.99 | 9 66% | 270 | $6.7k (exactly $6,747) | Repixel8 | |
| | Lose Ctrl | $12.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $5.5k (exactly $5,456) | Play From Your Heart Ug (haftungsbeschr… (Play From Your Heart Ug (haftungsbeschränkt)) |
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.