Do I ship it?

GamesSportsSports + Economy

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 83 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sports + Economy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $23k → $120k → $89k → $11k → $38k → $3.6k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sports + Economy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
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.

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.

Sports
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

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 $3.2k, 1 in 4 over $39k, 1 in 20 over $2.3M.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds17 devs · median $4.2k · 9 announced
  2. + CraftingFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Strategy RPGFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  4. + SandboxFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  5. + Split ScreenFair58 devs · median $4.0k · 52 announced
  6. + Dating SimFair29 devs · median $3.6k · 21 announced
  7. + Visual NovelFair38 devs · median $3.4k · 31 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair14 devs · median $3.4k · 13 announced
  9. + FMVFair17 devs · median $2.7k · 5 announced
  10. + BikesFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 18 announced
  11. + Immersive SimFair182 devs · median $2.4k · 185 announced
  12. + Choices MatterFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced

All 199 pairs on the Sports page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.