Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Sci-fi

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Sci-fi Level Editor game?

Level Editor + Sci-fi

Of 74 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 148 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $130; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×497 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 148 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 148 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Sci-fi
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $479 → $3.6k → $2.0k → $179 → $600 → $1.5k → $960 (still earning) → $2.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Sci-fi: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $130 (exactly $130)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,595)
Top 5% $312k (exactly $312,196)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 237
Announced 148
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.00

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 80% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Sci-fi
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvE, Strategy
Price point
$8.00 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Pixel Graphics, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.00.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 40,068 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $130, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

3 in 10 developers made under $130. 7 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 148 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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

Portal 2 2011 · $117M Rhythm Doctor 2025 · $15M Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition 2025 · $11M Mindustry 2019 · $7.4M Nuclear Option 2023 · EA · $6.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Portal 2 older $9.99 390,412 98% 12M $117M (exactly $117,006,476) Valve
Rhythm Doctor $19.99 25,021 98% 751k $15M (exactly $15,005,094) 7th Beat Games
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition $29.99 12,286 85% 369k $11M (exactly $11,053,714) Relic Entertainment
Mindustry older $9.99 24,608 95% 738k $7.4M (exactly $7,375,018) AnukenDev
Nuclear Option · EA older $19.99 10,275 95% 308k $6.2M (exactly $6,161,917) Shockfront Studios
Distance older $24.99 5,832 93% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) Refract
SPORE™ Galactic Adventures older $19.99 7,249 89% 217k $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) EA - Maxis
Ion Fury older $24.99 5,649 93% 169k $4.2M (exactly $4,235,055) Voidpoint, LLC
Prodeus older $24.99 5,505 92% 165k $4.1M (exactly $4,127,098) Bounding Box Software Inc.
Creeper World 4 older $24.99 4,553 94% 137k $3.4M (exactly $3,413,384) Knuckle Cracker
Creeper World IXE $19.99 855 69% 26k $513k (exactly $512,743) Knuckle Cracker
Annihilate The Spance · EA $29.99 347 90% 10k $312k (exactly $312,196) Skyglow Softworks
Haydee 3 $29.99 321 84% 9.6k $289k (exactly $288,804) Haydee Interactive
Block Fortress 2 $19.99 264 81% 7.9k $158k (exactly $158,321) Foursaken Media
Backrooms Media $7.99 546 39% 16k $131k (exactly $130,876) NPK Games
Quantum Odyssey · EA $17.99 141 92% 4.2k $76k (exactly $76,098) Quarks Interactive
Age Of Warbots $9.99 160 83% 4.8k $48k (exactly $47,952) VDimension
Athena Crisis $9.99 127 77% 3.8k $38k (exactly $38,062) Nakazawa Tech

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