Do I ship it?

GamesImmersive SimImmersive Sim + Level Editor

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Level Editor

Of 30 developers who shipped a Level Editor Immersive Sim 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.. 50 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $7.8k, ×5.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×151 the market median. Revenue is up 270% on the market; 50 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 270% on the market, 50 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Level Editor
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $3.0k → $36k → $86k → $10k → $6.6k → $7.8k (still earning) → $14k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Level Editor: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Median $7.8k (exactly $7,792)
Top 25% $87k (exactly $86,913)
Top 5% $225k (exactly $225,487)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 98
Announced 50
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 270% on the market, supply 40% 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.

Immersive Sim
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, Level Editor; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Sports, Sandbox
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 3,123 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.4k, median $7.8k, 1 in 4 over $86k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.4k. 6 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
American Truck Simulator older $19.99 165,692 97% 5.0M $99M (exactly $99,365,492) SCS Software
Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing older $19.99 13,633 95% 409k $8.2M (exactly $8,175,710) LuGus Studios
GoreBox older $8.99 23,130 84% 694k $6.2M (exactly $6,238,161) F2Games
Far Cry® 2 older $9.99 17,359 75% 521k $5.2M (exactly $5,202,492) Ubisoft Montreal
Fallen Aces · EA older $14.99 6,608 96% 198k $3.0M (exactly $2,971,618) Trey Powell, Jason Bond
AirportSim older $34.99 1,412 67% 42k $1.5M (exactly $1,482,176) MS GAMES, MK STUDIOS
Rolling Line older $19.99 2,449 96% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,468,665) Gaugepunk Games
Scoot · EA older $12.99 1,380 90% 41k $538k (exactly $537,786) Seafront Games
Blockbuster Inc. older $24.99 618 51% 19k $463k (exactly $463,315) Super Sly Fox
Train Sim World® 7 $49.99 278 74% 8.3k $417k (exactly $416,917) Dovetail Games
Torque Drift 2 · EA $19.99 376 62% 11k $225k (exactly $225,487) Grease Monkey Games
Hometopia $8.99 777 57% 23k $210k (exactly $209,557) Hometopia Inc.
JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator $17.99 378 76% 11k $204k (exactly $204,007) Prof. Scherer
ReCharge RC: High Voltage · EA $13.99 393 95% 12k $165k (exactly $164,942) Hondune Games
Pro Basketball Manager 2025 $24.99 169 68% 5.1k $127k (exactly $126,699) Umix Studios
Pro Basketball Manager 2026 $29.99 121 69% 3.6k $109k (exactly $108,864) Umix Studios
Kaiju Cracking Corporation $11.99 295 71% 8.9k $106k (exactly $106,112) SofRock Games
CFS (Chinese Football Simulator) $9.99 290 67% 8.7k $87k (exactly $86,913) 悟空实验室
Tennis Manager 26 $39.99 46 73% 1.4k $55k (exactly $55,186) Rebound

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