Games › Racing › Racing + Exploration
Should I ship an Exploration Racing game?
Racing + Exploration
Of 165 developers who shipped an Exploration 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.. 257 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $2.4M, ×3829 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 257 games are announced against 89 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,233) |
| Top 5% | $2.4M (exactly $2,404,797) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 165 |
| Released games | 529 |
| Announced | 257 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Racing
- effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling, track content and opponent AI
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Racing, Exploration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Driving, Open World
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 172,523 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 97 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 257 games are announced against 89 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Racing with a different second tag, 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
Forza Horizon 5 2021 · $468M 
BeamNG.drive 2015 · EA · $291M 
Forza Horizon 6 2026 · $182M 
SnowRunner 2021 · $42M 
Mad Max 2015 · $35M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Forza Horizon 5 | older | $59.99 | 260,218 89% | 7.8M | $468M (exactly $468,314,335) | Playground Games |
| | BeamNG.drive | · EA older | $24.99 | 388,236 97% | 12M | $291M (exactly $291,060,529) | BeamNG |
| | Forza Horizon 6 | $69.99 | 86,730 82% | 2.6M | $182M (exactly $182,106,981) | Playground Games | |
| | SnowRunner | older | $29.99 | 46,343 90% | 1.4M | $42M (exactly $41,694,797) | Saber Interactive |
| | Mad Max | older | $19.99 | 57,651 91% | 1.7M | $35M (exactly $34,573,305) | Avalanche Studios |
 | Steep™ | older | $29.99 | 30,589 82% | 918k | $28M (exactly $27,520,923) | Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ub… (Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Kiev) |
 | Trailmakers | older | $24.99 | 33,465 92% | 1.0M | $25M (exactly $25,088,710) | Flashbulb |
 | The Long Drive | · EA older | $15.99 | 50,184 88% | 1.5M | $24M (exactly $24,073,265) | Genesz |
 | MudRunner | older | $19.99 | 37,705 91% | 1.1M | $23M (exactly $22,611,688) | Saber Interactive |
 | RAGE 2 | older | $39.99 | 14,019 64% | 421k | $17M (exactly $16,818,594) | id Software, Avalanche Studios |
 | Drive Beyond Horizons | · EA | $24.99 | 17,903 77% | 537k | $13M (exactly $13,421,879) | Drive Beyond Horizons |
 | Mon Bazou | $15.99 | 19,922 97% | 598k | $9.6M (exactly $9,556,583) | Santa Goat | |
 | Haste | $19.99 | 12,690 92% | 381k | $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) | Landfall | |
 | JDM: Japanese Drift Master | $34.99 | 5,217 75% | 157k | $5.5M (exactly $5,476,285) | Gaming Factory | |
 | Sledders | $29.99 | 4,372 95% | 131k | $3.9M (exactly $3,933,488) | Hanki Games | |
 | Easy Delivery Co. | $12.99 | 9,538 95% | 286k | $3.7M (exactly $3,716,959) | Sam C | |
 | Super Battle Golf | $12.99 | 9,325 93% | 280k | $3.6M (exactly $3,633,952) | Brimstone | |
 | My Garage | $19.99 | 4,010 90% | 120k | $2.4M (exactly $2,404,797) | Viking Game Studio | |
 | FUMES | · EA | $14.99 | 2,816 95% | 84k | $1.3M (exactly $1,266,355) | FUMES team |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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