Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Exploration

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Exploration game?

Level Editor + Exploration

Of 63 developers who shipped a Level Editor Exploration 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.. 129 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×5.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $970k, ×1559 the market median. Revenue is up 620% on the market; 129 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 620% on the market, 129 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Exploration
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 63
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $3.8k → $2.1k → $3.5k → $1.0k → $3.0k → $7.8k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Exploration: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 63
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $3.5k (exactly $3,506)
Top 25% $42k (exactly $42,097)
Top 5% $979k (exactly $979,316)
Developers, 2 yr 63
Released games 184
Announced 129
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 620% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Exploration
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Level Editor, Exploration; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Open World
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 34,605 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $3.5k, 1 in 4 over $42k, 1 in 20 over $970k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 7 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 129 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Multiple EndingsFair17 devs · median $8.1k · 23 announced
  2. + Hidden ObjectFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $3.4k · 17 announced
  4. + Time AttackFair12 devs · median $748 · 14 announced
  5. + IdlerFair19 devs · median $719 · 12 announced
  6. + Score AttackFair51 devs · median $598 · 62 announced
  7. + AutomationLong shot27 devs · median $300 · 32 announced
  8. + TransportationPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  9. + TrainsPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 11 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds22 devs · median $43k · 46 announced
  11. + City BuilderPoor odds20 devs · median $24k · 50 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds36 devs · median $19k · 111 announced

All 136 pairs on the Level Editor page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

American Truck Simulator 2016 · $99M Blue Prince 2025 · $16M Escape Simulator 2021 · $9.9M The Bus 2026 · $9.4M Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing 2018 · $8.2M
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
Blue Prince $29.99 17,498 85% 525k $16M (exactly $15,742,951) Dogubomb
Escape Simulator older $19.99 16,496 94% 495k $9.9M (exactly $9,892,651) Pine Studio
The Bus $39.99 7,831 73% 235k $9.4M (exactly $9,394,851) TML-Studios
Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing older $19.99 13,633 95% 409k $8.2M (exactly $8,175,710) LuGus Studios
GoreBox older $8.99 23,130 84% 694k $6.2M (exactly $6,238,161) F2Games
Far Cry® 2 older $9.99 17,359 75% 521k $5.2M (exactly $5,202,492) Ubisoft Montreal
SPORE™ Galactic Adventures older $19.99 7,249 89% 217k $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) EA - Maxis
Ion Fury older $24.99 5,649 93% 169k $4.2M (exactly $4,235,055) Voidpoint, LLC
Dungeons 4 older $49.99 2,392 86% 72k $3.6M (exactly $3,587,282) Realmforge Studios
Escape Simulator 2 $19.99 4,292 92% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912) Pine Studio
The Artisan of Glimmith $12.99 2,513 97% 75k $979k (exactly $979,316) Lunarch Studios
Wizordum $19.99 880 91% 26k $528k (exactly $527,736) Emberheart Games
Train Sim World® 7 $49.99 278 74% 8.3k $417k (exactly $416,917) Dovetail Games
Overthrown $24.99 255 55% 7.7k $191k (exactly $191,174) Brimstone
Vaudeville $19.99 283 48% 8.5k $170k (exactly $169,715) Bumblebee Studios
Backrooms Media $7.99 546 39% 16k $131k (exactly $130,876) NPK Games
Rocket Boots Mania $14.99 229 99% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Luma Play

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