Do I ship it?

GamesFlightFlight + Modern

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Modern-Day Flight game?

Flight + Modern

Only 15 developers shipped a Modern-Day Flight game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Metal Thunder, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.3k, ×10 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $810; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×298 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 28 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 28 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Flight + Modern
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $15k → $7.6k → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Flight + Modern: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $807 (exactly $807)
Median $6.3k (exactly $6,296)
Top 25% $42k (exactly $41,658)
Top 5% $187k (exactly $186,940)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 49
Announced 28
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 65% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Flight
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Modern
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Flight; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Shooter, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Top-Down, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 1,311 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $810, median $6.3k, 1 in 4 over $41k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $810. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Flight with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair9 devs · median $2.4k · 11 announced
  2. + Hidden ObjectFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 10 announced
  3. + Quick-Time EventsFair9 devs · median $657 · 9 announced
  4. + CatsFair6 devs · median $629 · 10 announced
  5. + Life SimPoor odds12 devs · median $70k · 29 announced
  6. + TradingPoor odds6 devs · median $36k · 21 announced
  7. + MiningPoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 13 announced
  8. + CraftingPoor odds14 devs · median $19k · 57 announced
  9. + Base BuildingPoor odds23 devs · median $17k · 48 announced
  10. + EconomyPoor odds20 devs · median $15k · 45 announced
  11. + RTSPoor odds14 devs · median $15k · 18 announced
  12. + Cold WarPoor odds10 devs · median $11k · 16 announced

All 132 pairs on the Flight page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing older $19.99 13,633 95% 409k $8.2M (exactly $8,175,710) LuGus Studios
Project Gunship · EA older $14.99 836 75% 25k $376k (exactly $375,949) Sklorite Studios LLC
Metal Thunder · EA $10.99 567 76% 17k $187k (exactly $186,940) Dumbbell Games
Drone Sector · EA $16.99 366 89% 11k $187k (exactly $186,550) Icosphere
Technicity older $17.99 200 75% 6.0k $108k (exactly $107,940) Osaris Games
Helicopter Simulator VR 2021 - Rescue Missions older $17.99 157 82% 4.7k $85k (exactly $84,733) Helicopter Simulator
Hydrofoil Generation older $19.99 103 84% 3.1k $62k (exactly $61,769) Jaxx Vane Studio
Terminal One $19.99 96 66% 2.9k $58k (exactly $57,571) Terminal Reality
F-Drones Simulator · EA $9.99 139 67% 4.2k $42k (exactly $41,658) F-Dev
World of Aircraft: Glider Simulator older $15.99 49 38% 1.5k $24k (exactly $23,505) World of Aircraft Team
无梦少女 DreamlessGirl $9.99 49 65% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,685) REZEROR STUDIO
Kamikaze Strike: FPV Drone $5.99 48 83% 1.4k $8.6k (exactly $8,626) Dinomore Games
Helicopter Simulator 2025 - Real Flight PC/VR $17.99 14 42% 420 $7.6k (exactly $7,556) Helicopter Simulator
ACRODRIFT: FPV Drone Simulator · EA $14.99 14 85% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) Dueking Studio
Cursed Broom $9.99 15 86% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Cursed Creations
Real RC: Flight Simulator Aircraft Remote Control 2026 $29.99 3 33% 90 $2.7k (exactly $2,699) Thetis Games

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