Do I ship it?

Games › Flight › Flight + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Flight game?

Flight + Puzzle

Of 35 developers who shipped a Puzzle Flight 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.. 48 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 20 developers shipped in the last year and 48 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 48 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Flight + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.7k → $2.8k → $1.8k → $839 → $0 → $359 → $0 (still earning) → $238 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Flight + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $238 (exactly $238)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,248)
Top 5% $78k (exactly $77,622)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 141
Announced 48
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 40% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

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, Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cute, Family Friendly
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 1,692 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $240, 1 in 4 over $2.2k, 1 in 20 over $77k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Flight with a different second tag, 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

Besiege 2020 · $22M AER Memories of Old 2017 · $2.3M Fly Corp 2023 · $1.4M I am an Air Traffic Controller 4 2020 · $1.0M Flower 2019 · $1.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Besiege older $14.99 48,045 95% 1.4M $22M (exactly $21,605,836) Spiderling Studios
AER Memories of Old older $14.99 5,064 86% 152k $2.3M (exactly $2,277,281) Forgotten Key
Fly Corp older $14.99 3,112 85% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,399,466) KishMish Games
I am an Air Traffic Controller 4 older $59.99 566 79% 17k $1.0M (exactly $1,018,630) TechnoBrain
Flower older $6.99 4,790 79% 144k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,463) thatgamecompany
Approximately Up $24.99 995 93% 30k $746k (exactly $745,952) Approximately Games
Disassembly 3D older $29.99 309 81% 9.3k $278k (exactly $278,007) Khor Chin Heong
DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders older $29.99 158 90% 4.7k $142k (exactly $142,153) Climax Studios Ltd.
Disassembly VR older $29.99 157 59% 4.7k $141k (exactly $141,253) Khor Chin Heong
Endless ATC older $7.99 512 97% 15k $123k (exactly $122,726) startgrid
Night Stones $9.99 259 93% 7.8k $78k (exactly $77,622) Advance Nine
VORON: Raven’s Story $9.99 199 90% 6.0k $60k (exactly $59,640) Merk Games
Airport Baggage Simulator $17.99 100 92% 3.0k $54k (exactly $53,970) Three River Games (3RG)
ATC Ground Point $15.99 77 81% 2.3k $37k (exactly $36,937) Blueon
Pocket and Zooom $15.99 16 75% 480 $7.7k (exactly $7,675) TechnoBrain
Mayday Protocol $7.99 21 71% 630 $5.0k (exactly $5,034) Wazang Games
SKY LEGENDS - An Aeropostal Epic $24.99 5 60% 150 $3.7k (exactly $3,748) SUPER AC
A-RED Walking Robot $14.99 5 80% 150 $2.2k (exactly $2,248) JOOKITOOZ
Put the Sausage in the Bun $4.99 15 93% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) Polysoup Interactive

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