Do I ship it?

Games › Physics › Physics + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Physics game?

Physics + Hacking

Only 12 developers shipped a Hacking Physics 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, Deathground, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×628 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 30 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 30 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Physics + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $1.8k → $1.6k (still earning) → $45 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Physics + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,418)
Top 5% $394k (exactly $394,387)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 29
Announced 30
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 400% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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.

Physics
effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning
Hacking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Physics
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 68% positive over 1,354 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $3.4k, 1 in 20 over $390k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 30 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderStrong odds31 devs · median $8.1k · 30 announced
  2. + Dating SimFair28 devs · median $5.9k · 20 announced
  3. + PinballFair62 devs · median $2.5k · 80 announced
  4. + World War IIFair11 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  5. + Mini GolfFair40 devs · median $1.2k · 44 announced
  6. + GolfFair55 devs · median $987 · 59 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair179 devs · median $718 · 230 announced
  8. + IdlerFair142 devs · median $718 · 167 announced
  9. + Hidden ObjectFair162 devs · median $600 · 157 announced
  10. + CatsFair76 devs · median $599 · 101 announced
  11. + Mystery DungeonFair22 devs · median $539 · 20 announced
  12. + BilliardsFair36 devs · median $538 · 32 announced

All 251 pairs on the Physics page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Ctrl Alt Ego 2022 · $442k Deathground 2025 · EA · $394k JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator 2025 · $204k JUSTICE SUCKS: Tactical Vacuum Action 2022 · $119k Project Third Eye 2023 · EA · $60k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ctrl Alt Ego older $19.99 737 92% 22k $442k (exactly $441,979) MindThunk
Deathground · EA $14.99 877 61% 26k $394k (exactly $394,387) Jaw Drop Games
JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator $17.99 378 76% 11k $204k (exactly $204,007) Prof. Scherer
JUSTICE SUCKS: Tactical Vacuum Action older $19.99 199 95% 6.0k $119k (exactly $119,340) Samurai Punk
Project Third Eye · EA older $11.99 166 74% 5.0k $60k (exactly $59,710) YueWorks
Ensora older $14.99 40 72% 1.2k $18k (exactly $17,988) Dex Games Studio
Sophie's Safecracking Simulator older $2.99 64 96% 1.9k $5.7k (exactly $5,741) Sophie Houlden
Hackshot older $11.99 12 91% 360 $4.3k (exactly $4,316) RD Interactive
Logic Escape older $6.99 20 90% 600 $4.2k (exactly $4,194) NguyeZ
Unseen Diplomacy 2 $18.99 6 83% 180 $3.4k (exactly $3,418) Triangular Pixels
Burnstation $11.99 8 100% 240 $2.9k (exactly $2,878) Klafti Studio
PolyCrime · EA $9.99 6 66% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) FoxGameDev
FLY2K $4.99 11 100% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) Obscure Games, HYPERNORMAL
CPU Invaders - Aim Hero $0.99 53 100% 1.6k $1.6k (exactly $1,574) Microblast Games
Coreward $2.99 11 72% 330 $987 (exactly $987) carllacan
H4CT0PL45M $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) MetricBead
Eye X Eye $1.49 1 100% 30 $45 (exactly $45) Blarb Productions

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