Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Music

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Music Level Editor game?

Level Editor + Music

Of 28 developers who shipped a Music Level Editor game 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.. 47 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $3.5M, ×5581 the market median. Revenue is up 1610% on the market; 47 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 1610% on the market, 47 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Music
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $46k → $1.2k → $4.7k → $629 → $171k → $6.0k (still earning) → $2.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Music: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $537 (exactly $537)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,518)
Top 25% $57k (exactly $56,662)
Top 5% $3.5M (exactly $3,504,647)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 98
Announced 47
Effort 5 / 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 up 1610% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Music
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Level Editor; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Rhythm, Arcade
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 35,011 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $56k, 1 in 20 over $3.5M.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Multiple EndingsFair17 devs · median $8.1k · 23 announced
  2. + Hidden ObjectFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $3.4k · 17 announced
  4. + Time AttackFair12 devs · median $748 · 14 announced
  5. + IdlerFair19 devs · median $719 · 12 announced
  6. + Score AttackFair51 devs · median $598 · 62 announced
  7. + AutomationLong shot27 devs · median $300 · 32 announced
  8. + TransportationPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  9. + TrainsPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 11 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds22 devs · median $43k · 46 announced
  11. + City BuilderPoor odds20 devs · median $24k · 50 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds36 devs · median $19k · 111 announced

All 136 pairs on the Level Editor page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M Rhythm Doctor 2025 · $15M A Dance of Fire and Ice 2019 · $14M Rift of the NecroDancer 2025 · $3.5M Everhood 2021 · $3.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Geometry Dash older $4.99 595,606 93% 18M $89M (exactly $89,162,218) RobTop Games
Rhythm Doctor $19.99 25,021 98% 751k $15M (exactly $15,005,094) 7th Beat Games
A Dance of Fire and Ice older $5.99 78,688 94% 2.4M $14M (exactly $14,140,234) 7th Beat Games
Rift of the NecroDancer $19.99 5,844 93% 175k $3.5M (exactly $3,504,647) Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios I… (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios Inc.)
Everhood older $9.99 11,436 95% 343k $3.4M (exactly $3,427,369) Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca
Pistol Whip older $29.99 3,586 94% 108k $3.2M (exactly $3,226,324) Cloudhead Games Ltd.
Everhood 2 $19.99 2,207 74% 66k $1.3M (exactly $1,323,538) Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca
Afterbeat (Project Arrhythmia) · EA older $14.99 2,452 95% 74k $1.1M (exactly $1,102,664) Vitamin Games
Beatblock · EA $14.99 1,237 97% 37k $556k (exactly $556,279) BubbleTabby
Crashday Redline Edition older $11.99 1,528 89% 46k $550k (exactly $549,622) Moonbyte
HYPERBEAT $14.99 381 99% 11k $171k (exactly $171,336) Dreamware Media
Rizline $49.99 66 65% 2.0k $99k (exactly $98,980) Pigeon Games
Asterika: Phantom Rose Refrain $14.99 126 95% 3.8k $57k (exactly $56,662) makaroll
Nebula Flow $17.99 37 97% 1.1k $20k (exactly $19,969) After Nap Games
Concerto on White: Cajon Story $8.99 59 94% 1.8k $16k (exactly $15,912) C11 Games
Cadence $12.99 33 100% 990 $13k (exactly $12,860) Made With Monster Love

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