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Should I ship an Economy Sports game?
Sports + Economy
Of 51 developers who shipped an Economy Sports 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.. 83 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.2k, ×5.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.3M, ×3686 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 83 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.2k (exactly $3,235) |
| Top 25% | $40k (exactly $39,567) |
| Top 5% | $2.3M (exactly $2,314,842) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 51 |
| Released games | 108 |
| Announced | 83 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 85% on the market, supply 330% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sports, Economy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Strategy
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Text-Based
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 55% positive over 114,985 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 5 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 83 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Sports with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds
- + CraftingFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + SandboxFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + FMVFair
- + BikesFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Choices MatterFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | $69.99 | 99,773 50% | 3.0M | $209M (exactly $209,493,368) | EA Canada, EA Romania | |
| | Motorsport Manager | older | $19.99 | 11,499 91% | 345k | $6.9M (exactly $6,895,950) | Playsport Games |
| | F1® Manager 2024 | older | $34.99 | 5,554 83% | 167k | $5.8M (exactly $5,830,034) | Frontier Developments |
| | Cast n Chill | $14.99 | 8,383 94% | 251k | $3.8M (exactly $3,769,835) | Wombat Brawler | |
| | Football, Tactics & Glory | older | $24.99 | 3,998 87% | 120k | $3.0M (exactly $2,997,301) | Creoteam |
| | Esports Manager 2026 | $19.99 | 3,860 73% | 116k | $2.3M (exactly $2,314,842) | Neurona Games | |
| | Gym Simulator 24 | older | $12.99 | 2,531 84% | 76k | $986k (exactly $986,331) | Red Axe Games |
| | WE ARE FOOTBALL 2024 | older | $39.99 | 751 79% | 23k | $901k (exactly $900,975) | Winning Streak Games GmbH |
| | Super Woden: Rally Edge | $12.99 | 1,552 96% | 47k | $605k (exactly $604,814) | ViJuDa | |
| | Esports Life Tycoon | older | $19.99 | 605 61% | 18k | $363k (exactly $362,818) | UPLAY Online |
| | NUTMEG! A Nostalgic Deckbuilding Football Manager | $24.99 | 378 89% | 11k | $283k (exactly $283,387) | Sumo Digital, Sumo Digital Academy | |
| | Copa City: Matchday Manager | $24.99 | 247 72% | 7.4k | $185k (exactly $185,176) | Triple Espresso S.A. | |
| | Horse Racing Manager | · EA | $24.99 | 208 88% | 6.2k | $156k (exactly $155,938) | Sheep Meadow Road Games |
| | Football Academy Manager | · EA | $14.99 | 278 91% | 8.3k | $125k (exactly $125,017) | Hubi |
| | Under Par Golf Architect | $19.99 | 158 81% | 4.7k | $95k (exactly $94,753) | Broken Arms Games | |
| | Franchise Hockey Manager 11 | $19.99 | 148 70% | 4.4k | $89k (exactly $88,756) | game54 Software, Out of the Park Develo… (game54 Software, Out of the Park Developments) |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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