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Should I ship a Level Editor Resource Management game?
Level Editor + Resource Management
Of 38 developers who shipped a Level Editor Resource Management 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.. 79 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 $3.1k, ×4.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $9.8M, ×15622 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 79 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $450 (exactly $450) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.1k (exactly $3,055) |
| Top 25% | $55k (exactly $55,186) |
| Top 5% | $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 111 |
| Announced | 79 |
| 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 35% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- Resource Management
- 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, Resource Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Base Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 52,571 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 22 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
Timberborn 2026 · $40M 
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition 2020 · $39M 
Age of Mythology: Retold 2024 · $19M 
Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M 
Mindustry 2019 · $7.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Timberborn | $34.99 | 38,529 95% | 1.2M | $40M (exactly $40,443,891) | Mechanistry | |
| | Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition | older | $34.99 | 37,093 84% | 1.1M | $39M (exactly $38,936,522) | World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten… (World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten Empires) |
| | Age of Mythology: Retold | older | $29.99 | 20,943 90% | 628k | $19M (exactly $18,842,417) | World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantal… (World's Edge, Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media, CaptureAge, Virtuos Games) |
| | Diplomacy is Not an Option | $29.99 | 10,904 85% | 327k | $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) | Door 407 | |
| | Mindustry | older | $9.99 | 24,608 95% | 738k | $7.4M (exactly $7,375,018) | AnukenDev |
 | Pharaoh™: A New Era | older | $22.99 | 4,811 75% | 144k | $3.3M (exactly $3,318,147) | Triskell Interactive |
 | Rise to Ruins | older | $14.99 | 7,234 87% | 217k | $3.3M (exactly $3,253,130) | Raymond Doerr |
 | Rise of Industry | older | $29.99 | 3,122 74% | 94k | $2.8M (exactly $2,808,863) | Dapper Penguin Studios |
 | Factory Town | older | $19.99 | 4,142 90% | 124k | $2.5M (exactly $2,483,957) | Erik Asmussen |
 | AO Tennis 2 | older | $49.99 | 1,236 70% | 37k | $1.9M (exactly $1,853,629) | Big Ant Studios |
 | Citadelum | $24.99 | 1,005 83% | 30k | $753k (exactly $753,448) | Abylight Barcelona | |
 | Annihilate The Spance | · EA | $29.99 | 347 90% | 10k | $312k (exactly $312,196) | Skyglow Softworks |
 | Overthrown | $24.99 | 255 55% | 7.7k | $191k (exactly $191,174) | Brimstone | |
 | Warnament | $12.99 | 479 84% | 14k | $187k (exactly $186,666) | Luden.io | |
 | Age of Clicks | · EA | $12.99 | 472 65% | 14k | $184k (exactly $183,938) | David Ius |
 | 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 | |
 | CFS (Chinese Football Simulator) | $9.99 | 290 67% | 8.7k | $87k (exactly $86,913) | 悟空实验室 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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