Do I ship it?

GamesGod GameGod Game + Physics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Physics God Game?

God Game + Physics

Of 34 developers who shipped a Physics God 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.. 55 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 $810, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $91k, ×145 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 55 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 115% on the market, 55 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
God Game + Physics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $2.7k → $120 → $2.7k → $748 → $6.8k → $809 (still earning) → $628 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for God Game + Physics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $809 (exactly $809)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,473)
Top 5% $91k (exactly $91,222)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 115
Announced 55
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 115% on the market, supply 15% more 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

God Game
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Physics
effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
God Game, Physics; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Sandbox, Management
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Minimalist
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 3,537 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $810, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $91k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

God Game with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + HistoricalFair19 devs · median $12k · 28 announced
  2. + EconomyFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  3. + PuzzleFair27 devs · median $1.2k · 30 announced
  4. + Inventory ManagementFair16 devs · median $1.1k · 15 announced
  5. + DestructionFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  6. + DystopianFair14 devs · median $898 · 10 announced
  7. + IdlerFair91 devs · median $839 · 95 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair79 devs · median $807 · 71 announced
  9. + ArcadeLong shot17 devs · median $390 · 20 announced
  10. + Farming SimLong shot22 devs · median $359 · 24 announced
  11. + AgricultureLong shot9 devs · median $180 · 7 announced
  12. + Base BuildingPoor odds37 devs · median $28k · 77 announced

All 96 pairs on the God Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Universe Sandbox · EA older $29.99 27,843 96% 835k $25M (exactly $25,050,347) Giant Army
From Dust older $14.99 2,803 67% 84k $1.3M (exactly $1,260,509) Ubisoft Montpellier
Megaton Rainfall older $15.99 2,155 71% 65k $1.0M (exactly $1,033,754) Pentadimensional Games, SL
Marble World older $19.99 1,268 89% 38k $760k (exactly $760,420) Vector Interactive
Solar 2 older $9.99 1,574 91% 47k $472k (exactly $471,728) Murudai
Paper Beast older $19.99 529 94% 16k $317k (exactly $317,241) Pixel Reef
GolfTopia older $19.99 477 95% 14k $286k (exactly $286,057) MinMax Games Ltd.
Creature Crafter older $7.99 745 86% 22k $179k (exactly $178,576) Daniel Lochner
Terra Firma 2 · EA $19.99 200 92% 6.0k $120k (exactly $119,940) Working as Intended
Paper Beast - Folded Edition older $16.99 195 85% 5.9k $99k (exactly $99,391) Pixel Reef
拖拖拉拉小菲镇 $1.99 1,528 98% 46k $91k (exactly $91,222) LuzhangGames
ANLIFE: Motion-Learning Life Evolution $13.99 161 83% 4.8k $68k (exactly $67,572) Attructure Inc.
Global Magnates: Shipping Tycoon $12.99 116 64% 3.5k $45k (exactly $45,205) Aquila Chengdu
Genesis of a Small God $17.99 61 80% 1.8k $33k (exactly $32,922) Pierre Nury
Sandboxels $0.99 1,108 94% 33k $33k (exactly $32,908) R74n
Nuclear Design Bureau · EA $9.99 88 79% 2.6k $26k (exactly $26,374) Design Bureau KB-11
Desktop Fishes $5.99 128 82% 3.8k $23k (exactly $23,002) Daniel Santalla
Hideko $4.99 90 97% 2.7k $13k (exactly $13,473) Sokpop Collective
Inspiral: Echoes of Gravity $3.99 57 73% 1.7k $6.8k (exactly $6,823) PcZ Games

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