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Should I ship a Level Editor Procedural Generation game?
Level Editor + Procedural Generation
Of 44 developers who shipped a Level Editor Procedural Generation 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.. 86 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×6.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×252 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 86 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $478 (exactly $478) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) |
| Top 25% | $32k (exactly $32,392) |
| Top 5% | $158k (exactly $158,321) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 44 |
| Released games | 152 |
| Announced | 86 |
| 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 down 70% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Procedural Generation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Level Editor, Procedural Generation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sandbox, Building, Simulation
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Colorful, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 3,817 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 86 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Level Editor with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + AutomationLong shot
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
Door Kickers: Action Squad 2018 · $3.7M 
Hero's Hour 2022 · $2.5M 
Mashinky 2018 · EA · $1.8M 
30XX 2023 · $1.5M 
Sweet Transit 2024 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Door Kickers: Action Squad | older | $13.99 | 8,778 95% | 263k | $3.7M (exactly $3,684,127) | PixelShard, KillHouse Games |
| | Hero's Hour | older | $17.99 | 4,643 79% | 139k | $2.5M (exactly $2,505,827) | Benjamin "ThingOnItsOwn" Hauer |
| | Mashinky | · EA older | $24.99 | 2,361 84% | 71k | $1.8M (exactly $1,770,042) | Jan Zelený |
| | 30XX | older | $19.99 | 2,514 90% | 75k | $1.5M (exactly $1,507,646) | Batterystaple Games |
| | Sweet Transit | older | $34.99 | 1,119 67% | 34k | $1.2M (exactly $1,174,614) | Ernestas Norvaišas |
 | Cloud Gardens | older | $17.99 | 2,102 95% | 63k | $1.1M (exactly $1,134,449) | Noio |
 | Unrailed 2: Back on Track | $19.99 | 1,794 88% | 54k | $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862) | Indoor Astronaut | |
 | Fantasy Map Simulator | · EA older | $7.99 | 4,190 89% | 126k | $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) | The Stranger |
 | IRMÃO Grande & Brasileiro 2 | older | $19.99 | 1,392 97% | 42k | $835k (exactly $834,782) | Virgula Leal |
 | Race The Sun | older | $9.99 | 1,974 93% | 59k | $592k (exactly $591,608) | Flippfly LLC |
 | Vaudeville | $19.99 | 283 48% | 8.5k | $170k (exactly $169,715) | Bumblebee Studios | |
 | Block Fortress 2 | $19.99 | 264 81% | 7.9k | $158k (exactly $158,321) | Foursaken Media | |
 | 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 | |
 | Summer Islands | $14.99 | 190 81% | 5.7k | $85k (exactly $85,443) | Marttalin Games | |
 | Together in Battle | $19.99 | 134 90% | 4.0k | $80k (exactly $80,360) | Sinister Design | |
 | The Bibites: Digital Life | · EA | $9.99 | 218 96% | 6.5k | $65k (exactly $65,335) | Omnia Studios |
 | Voxile | · EA | $17.99 | 78 69% | 2.3k | $42k (exactly $42,097) | VoxRay Games, Inc. |
 | Voxelgram 2 | $9.99 | 111 85% | 3.3k | $33k (exactly $33,267) | Procedural Level |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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