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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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Immersive Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Trading Card GameStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + WesternStrong odds
- + BoxingStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Split ScreenFair
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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