Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Programming

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Programming game?

Level Editor + Programming

Of 23 developers who shipped a Level Editor Programming 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.. 33 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $630, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×325 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 33 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 33 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Programming
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $899 → $76k → $597 → $13k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Programming: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $628 (exactly $628)
Top 25% $47k (exactly $46,738)
Top 5% $204k (exactly $204,007)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 59
Announced 33
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 95% on the market, supply 55% 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
Programming
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, Programming; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Sandbox, Physics
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Difficult, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 2,086 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $630, 1 in 4 over $46k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Level Editor with a different second tag, 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

Baba Is You 2019 · $9.4M Juno: New Origins 2023 · $1.9M The Signal State 2021 · $389k Contraption Maker 2014 · $359k Replicube 2025 · $212k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Baba Is You older $14.99 21,011 97% 630k $9.4M (exactly $9,448,647) Hempuli Oy
Juno: New Origins older $19.99 3,085 89% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,850,074) Jundroo, LLC
The Signal State older $19.99 649 86% 19k $389k (exactly $389,205) Reckoner Industries
Contraption Maker older $12.99 922 92% 28k $359k (exactly $359,303) Kevin Ryan
Replicube $9.99 709 96% 21k $212k (exactly $212,487) Walaber Entertainment LLC
JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator $17.99 378 76% 11k $204k (exactly $204,007) Prof. Scherer
Quantum Odyssey · EA $17.99 141 92% 4.2k $76k (exactly $76,098) Quarks Interactive
Linkito older $14.99 152 87% 4.6k $68k (exactly $68,354) Kalinarm
The Bibites: Digital Life · EA $9.99 218 96% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) Omnia Studios
Bots Are Stupid older $12.99 161 77% 4.8k $63k (exactly $62,742) Leander Edler-Golla
Age Of Warbots $9.99 160 83% 4.8k $48k (exactly $47,952) VDimension
AI Learns To Drive $7.49 208 95% 6.2k $47k (exactly $46,738) ActivationFunction
Word Game World $11.99 114 62% 3.4k $41k (exactly $41,006) Team9
Observe · EA $7.99 74 91% 2.2k $18k (exactly $17,738) Kisotik Games
Cadence $12.99 33 100% 990 $13k (exactly $12,860) Made With Monster Love
The Lilliput Workshop $7.99 51 88% 1.5k $12k (exactly $12,225) Cotton Game

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