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Should I ship a Futuristic Level Editor game?
Level Editor + Futuristic
Of 39 developers who shipped a Futuristic Level Editor 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.. 75 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $31k, ×50 the market median. Revenue is up 530% on the market; 75 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $6.7k (exactly $6,746) |
| Top 5% | $32k (exactly $31,566) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 39 |
| Released games | 133 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 up 530% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Futuristic
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Level Editor; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Sandbox
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Pixel Graphics, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 636 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Level Editor with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + AutomationLong shot
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
VTOL VR 2017 · $18M 
Distance 2018 · $4.4M 
Pistol Whip 2019 · $3.2M 
Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ 2009 · $1.8M 
Trials Fusion™ 2014 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | VTOL VR | older | $29.99 | 19,885 98% | 597k | $18M (exactly $17,890,534) | Boundless Dynamics, LLC |
| | Distance | older | $24.99 | 5,832 93% | 175k | $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) | Refract |
| | Pistol Whip | older | $29.99 | 3,586 94% | 108k | $3.2M (exactly $3,226,324) | Cloudhead Games Ltd. |
| | Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ | older | $6.96 | 8,777 89% | 263k | $1.8M (exactly $1,832,638) | EA Los Angeles |
| | Trials Fusion™ | older | $19.99 | 2,285 66% | 69k | $1.4M (exactly $1,370,314) | RedLynx, in collaboration with Ubisoft… (RedLynx, in collaboration with Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Kiev) |
 | BallisticNG | older | $14.99 | 2,285 95% | 69k | $1.0M (exactly $1,027,564) | Neognosis |
 | Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight | older | $6.96 | 4,832 16% | 145k | $1.0M (exactly $1,008,922) | EA Los Angeles |
 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising | older | $6.96 | 4,572 84% | 137k | $955k (exactly $954,634) | EA Los Angeles |
 | The Signal State | older | $19.99 | 649 86% | 19k | $389k (exactly $389,205) | Reckoner Industries |
 | Neodash | older | $15.99 | 481 90% | 14k | $231k (exactly $230,736) | Axan Gray |
 | Age Of Warbots | $9.99 | 160 83% | 4.8k | $48k (exactly $47,952) | VDimension | |
 | Game of Rebirth | $12.99 | 81 69% | 2.4k | $32k (exactly $31,566) | ZodiacStudio | |
 | Powerplay | · EA | $18.99 | 42 85% | 1.3k | $24k (exactly $23,927) | Frantic |
 | Cyberscape | $14.99 | 43 93% | 1.3k | $19k (exactly $19,337) | AtomicTorch Studio | |
 | Star Racer | $9.99 | 59 93% | 1.8k | $18k (exactly $17,682) | Whatnot Games | |
 | Color Factory: Automation Meets Canvas | $4.99 | 79 87% | 2.4k | $12k (exactly $11,826) | Bosphorus Games | |
 | Midnight Moments | $2.99 | 108 92% | 3.2k | $9.7k (exactly $9,688) | Happy Volcano | |
 | RAGER | $19.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $9.6k (exactly $9,595) | Insane Prey | |
 | Maelstrom: The Battle for Earth Begins Enhanced | $6.99 | 33 75% | 990 | $6.9k (exactly $6,920) | KDV Games | |
 | HexaScape: Cyber Defense | $14.99 | 15 100% | 450 | $6.7k (exactly $6,746) | Clockwork Origins |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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