Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Nature Level Editor game?

Level Editor + Nature

Of 30 developers who shipped a Nature 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.. 56 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.9k, ×6.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×334 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 56 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 56 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Nature
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: $2.2k → $4.3k → $1.2k → $65k → $1.2k → $3.9k (still earning) → $955 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Nature: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $3.9k (exactly $3,892)
Top 25% $56k (exactly $56,344)
Top 5% $210k (exactly $209,557)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 76
Announced 56
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.20

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 95% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Nature
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Level Editor; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sandbox, Simulation, Building
Price point
$6.20 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.20.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 41,963 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $3.9k, 1 in 4 over $56k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 4 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

Timberborn 2026 · $40M Cloud Gardens 2021 · $1.1M Canvas of Kings 2023 · EA · $466k Hometopia 2025 · $210k Sipho 2023 · $183k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Timberborn $34.99 38,529 95% 1.2M $40M (exactly $40,443,891) Mechanistry
Cloud Gardens older $17.99 2,102 95% 63k $1.1M (exactly $1,134,449) Noio
Canvas of Kings · EA older $18.99 818 93% 25k $466k (exactly $466,015) Hannes Breuer
Hometopia $8.99 777 57% 23k $210k (exactly $209,557) Hometopia Inc.
Sipho older $17.99 339 83% 10k $183k (exactly $182,958) All Parts Connected
Islands & Trains $6.99 553 89% 17k $116k (exactly $115,964) Akos Makovics
Outside the Blocks $14.99 192 87% 5.8k $86k (exactly $86,342) Michał Kubas
Shields of Loyalty $19.99 140 77% 4.2k $84k (exactly $83,958) Mosaic Mask Studio
Ballex²: The Hanging Gardens $14.99 179 95% 5.4k $80k (exactly $80,496) Mushreb Games
The Bibites: Digital Life · EA $9.99 218 96% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) Omnia Studios
Nurikabe World $9.99 188 100% 5.6k $56k (exactly $56,344) Hemisquare
Sandboxels $0.99 1,108 94% 33k $33k (exactly $32,908) R74n
Plentiful · EA $9.99 79 91% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,676) GabberGames

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