Do I ship it?

GamesSandboxSandbox + Horses

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horse Sandbox?

Sandbox + Horses

Only 16 developers shipped a Horse Sandbox 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, Horsey Game, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $70k, ×111 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $870k, ×1389 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 31 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 111.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 31 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sandbox + Horses
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.2k → $109k → $103k → $135k → $300 → $70k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sandbox + Horses: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $1.5k (exactly $1,525)
Median $70k (exactly $69,704)
Top 25% $254k (exactly $254,273)
Top 5% $872k (exactly $872,427)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 54
Announced 31
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 55% on the market, supply 20% fewer 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.

Sandbox
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Horses
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Sandbox
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 5,768 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.6k, median $70k, 1 in 4 over $250k, 1 in 20 over $870k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.6k. 4 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FightingStrong odds11 devs · median $76k · 8 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair20 devs · median $224k · 19 announced
  3. + World War IIFair14 devs · median $146k · 13 announced
  4. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $17k · 12 announced
  5. + ProgrammingFair60 devs · median $7.0k · 71 announced
  6. + CatsFair63 devs · median $4.8k · 74 announced
  7. + SportsFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  8. + GamblingFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 31 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 42 announced
  10. + Combat RacingFair21 devs · median $1.8k · 26 announced
  11. + Trading Card GameFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  12. + IdlerFair258 devs · median $1.2k · 306 announced

All 233 pairs on the Sandbox page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Red Dead Redemption 2 older $59.99 846,270 92% 25M $1.5B (exactly $1,523,032,119) Rockstar Games
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord older $49.99 230,490 87% 6.9M $346M (exactly $345,665,853) TaleWorlds Entertainment
Mount & Blade: Warband older $19.99 135,425 97% 4.1M $81M (exactly $81,214,372) TaleWorlds Entertainment
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN older $19.99 73,137 91% 2.2M $44M (exactly $43,860,259) KONAMI
Farming Simulator 22 older $19.99 69,477 93% 2.1M $42M (exactly $41,665,357) GIANTS Software
Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm older $24.99 40,862 79% 1.2M $31M (exactly $30,634,241) Toxic Dog
Farm Together older $19.99 17,647 93% 529k $11M (exactly $10,582,906) Milkstone Studios
Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword older $9.99 11,213 87% 336k $3.4M (exactly $3,360,536) TaleWorlds Entertainment
DEEEER Simulator: Your Average Everyday Deer Game older $14.99 4,443 92% 133k $2.0M (exactly $1,998,017) Gibier Games
GUN™ older $19.99 2,102 91% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,260,569) Neversoft
Horsey Game $9.99 2,911 97% 87k $872k (exactly $872,427) Captain Games
Saloon Simulator · EA $18.99 860 89% 26k $490k (exactly $489,942) Glivi Games S.A.
Viking Frontiers $19.99 537 51% 16k $322k (exactly $322,039) BLUM Entertainment
Wild Indigo Ranch $19.99 424 68% 13k $254k (exactly $254,273) Funday Games
Horse Racing Manager · EA $24.99 208 88% 6.2k $156k (exactly $155,938) Sheep Meadow Road Games
A Merchant's Promise · EA $14.99 300 86% 9.0k $135k (exactly $134,910) Game Draft Studio
Lyndaria: Lust Adventure $14.99 229 76% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Lustration Team
Ancient Farm $14.99 155 55% 4.7k $70k (exactly $69,704) A2 Softworks
Horse Riding Classic $7.99 105 98% 3.2k $25k (exactly $25,168) Juice Cube
Animal Simulator $8.99 39 30% 1.2k $11k (exactly $10,518) Imperian Online - Core

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