Do I ship it?

Games › Economy › Economy + Level Editor

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Economy game?

Economy + Level Editor

Of 20 developers who shipped a Level Editor Economy 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.. 42 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $10k, ×16 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.3M, ×14960 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 42 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 16.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 42 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Level Editor
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $49k → $21k → $463k → $148k → $10k → $479 (still earning) → $6.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Level Editor: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Median $10k (exactly $10,132)
Top 25% $124k (exactly $123,737)
Top 5% $9.4M (exactly $9,394,851)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 57
Announced 42
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $12.99

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 80% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Economy
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
Economy, Level Editor; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Building
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, 2D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 28,088 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $10k, 1 in 4 over $120k, 1 in 20 over $9.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 5 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorFair116 devs · median $22k · 125 announced
  2. + Football (Soccer)Fair21 devs · median $6.8k · 29 announced
  3. + ScienceFair39 devs · median $5.9k · 39 announced
  4. + MiningFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  5. + LootFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  6. + CollectathonFair125 devs · median $3.8k · 151 announced
  7. + God GameFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  8. + Auto BattlerFair59 devs · median $2.4k · 79 announced
  9. + IdlerFair441 devs · median $2.3k · 589 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair408 devs · median $2.2k · 612 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  12. + Strategy RPGFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced

All 161 pairs on the Economy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

American Truck Simulator 2016 · $99M The Bus 2026 · $9.4M Parkitect 2018 · $6.1M Age of History 3 2024 · $5.4M Pharaoh™: A New Era 2023 · $3.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
American Truck Simulator older $19.99 165,692 97% 5.0M $99M (exactly $99,365,492) SCS Software
The Bus $39.99 7,831 73% 235k $9.4M (exactly $9,394,851) TML-Studios
Parkitect older $29.99 6,809 94% 204k $6.1M (exactly $6,126,057) Texel Raptor
Age of History 3 $9.99 18,102 85% 543k $5.4M (exactly $5,425,169) Łukasz Jakowski
Pharaoh™: A New Era older $22.99 4,811 75% 144k $3.3M (exactly $3,318,147) Triskell Interactive
Rise of Industry older $29.99 3,122 74% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,808,863) Dapper Penguin Studios
Factory Town older $19.99 4,142 90% 124k $2.5M (exactly $2,483,957) Erik Asmussen
Mashinky · EA older $24.99 2,361 84% 71k $1.8M (exactly $1,770,042) Jan Zelený
Sweet Transit older $34.99 1,119 67% 34k $1.2M (exactly $1,174,614) Ernestas Norvaišas
WE ARE FOOTBALL 2024 older $39.99 751 79% 23k $901k (exactly $900,975) Winning Streak Games GmbH
Citadelum $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) Abylight Barcelona
Warnament $12.99 479 84% 14k $187k (exactly $186,666) Luden.io
States of Power $11.99 344 88% 10k $124k (exactly $123,737) Sarunas
Summer Islands $14.99 190 81% 5.7k $85k (exactly $85,443) Marttalin Games
A-Train 9 V5.0 : Japan Train Simulator Ultimate Edition $39.99 36 77% 1.1k $43k (exactly $43,189) ARTDINK
Powerplay · EA $18.99 42 85% 1.3k $24k (exactly $23,927) Frantic
Governance · EA $17.99 33 66% 990 $18k (exactly $17,810) Governance Studios
Parking Lot Simulator: Car Collector · EA $12.99 26 65% 780 $10k (exactly $10,132) Byterop

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