Do I ship it?

GamesHockeyHockey + Simulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Simulation Hockey game?

Hockey + Simulation

Only 9 developers shipped a Simulation Hockey 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, Franchise Hockey Manager 11, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $6.7k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $88k, ×141 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 15 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 15 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hockey + Simulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $12k → $19k → $28k → $5.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hockey + Simulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $6.7k (exactly $6,747)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $26,973)
Top 5% $89k (exactly $88,756)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 42
Announced 15
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $10.00

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 45% on the market, supply 165% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Hockey
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Hockey, Simulation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sports, Strategy, Immersive Sim
Price point
$10.00 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $10.00.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 544 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $6.7k, 1 in 4 over $26k, 1 in 20 over $88k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 15 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Local MultiplayerStrong odds11 devs · median $3.0k · 12 announced
  2. + PvPPoor odds11 devs · median $3.0k · 24 announced
  3. + SportsPoor odds28 devs · median $1.6k · 43 announced
  4. + ActionPoor odds13 devs · median $958 · 21 announced
  5. + PhysicsPoor odds9 devs · median $958 · 20 announced
  6. + ArcadePoor odds17 devs · median $899 · 25 announced

All 6 pairs on the Hockey page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Eastside Hockey Manager older $19.99 1,173 86% 35k $703k (exactly $703,448) Sports Interactive
Franchise Hockey Manager 6 older $19.99 307 78% 9.2k $184k (exactly $184,108) Out of the Park Developments, Minos Gam… (Out of the Park Developments, Minos Games)
Franchise Hockey Manager 7 older $19.99 241 77% 7.2k $145k (exactly $144,528) Out of the Park Developments, Minos Gam… (Out of the Park Developments, Minos Games)
Franchise Hockey Manager 9 older $19.99 220 83% 6.6k $132k (exactly $131,934) Out of the Park Developments, game54 So… (Out of the Park Developments, game54 Software)
Franchise Hockey Manager 10 older $19.99 200 81% 6.0k $120k (exactly $119,940) Out of the Park Developments, game54 So… (Out of the Park Developments, game54 Software)
Franchise Hockey Manager 8 older $19.99 192 81% 5.8k $115k (exactly $115,142) Out of the Park Developments, Minos Gam… (Out of the Park Developments, Minos Games)
Franchise Hockey Manager 11 $19.99 148 70% 4.4k $89k (exactly $88,756) game54 Software, Out of the Park Develo… (game54 Software, Out of the Park Developments)
Franchise Hockey Manager 5 older $19.99 138 57% 4.1k $83k (exactly $82,759) Out of the Park Developments, Minos Gam… (Out of the Park Developments, Minos Games)
Franchise Hockey Manager 12 $19.99 132 78% 4.0k $79k (exactly $79,160) game54 Software, Out of the Park Develo… (game54 Software, Out of the Park Developments)
Franchise Hockey Manager 4 older $19.99 127 61% 3.8k $76k (exactly $76,162) Out of the Park Developments, Minos Gam… (Out of the Park Developments, Minos Games)
Hockey Legacy Manager 26 $9.99 94 91% 2.8k $28k (exactly $28,172) Hockey Legacy Manager
Floorball League 2010 $9.99 90 90% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,973) Prodigium Game Studios
Lacrosse 26 $34.99 17 88% 510 $18k (exactly $17,845) Crosse Studios
Hockey Legacy Manager 27 $11.99 23 95% 690 $8.3k (exactly $8,273) Hockey Legacy Manager
Hockey Club · EA $24.99 9 66% 270 $6.7k (exactly $6,747) Boogerman Games, LLC
Coastal Summit Sports: College Hockey 26 $9.99 18 83% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Coastal Summit Sports
Coastal Summit Sports: College Athletics 27 $9.99 12 25% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Coastal Summit Sports
Air Hockey Simulator · EA $5.99 1 0% 30 $180 (exactly $180) Hard Shark Games

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