Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Science Level Editor game?

Level Editor + Science

Only 13 developers shipped a Science Level Editor game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Timberborn, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $40M, ×64401 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 24 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 24 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Science
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $33k → $299 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Science: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,349)
Top 25% $65k (exactly $65,335)
Top 5% $40M (exactly $40,443,891)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 45
Announced 24
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 100% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
Science
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
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 40,398 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $65k, 1 in 20 over $40M.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 4 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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 Timberborn 2026 · $40M Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing 2018 · $8.2M Juno: New Origins 2023 · $1.9M JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator 2025 · $204k
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
Timberborn $34.99 38,529 95% 1.2M $40M (exactly $40,443,891) Mechanistry
Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing older $19.99 13,633 95% 409k $8.2M (exactly $8,175,710) LuGus Studios
Juno: New Origins older $19.99 3,085 89% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,850,074) Jundroo, LLC
JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator $17.99 378 76% 11k $204k (exactly $204,007) Prof. Scherer
ChromaGun older $12.99 303 76% 9.1k $118k (exactly $118,079) Pixel Maniacs
AI Drone Simulator older $14.99 206 83% 6.2k $93k (exactly $92,638) Diophante Studio
Quantum Odyssey · EA $17.99 141 92% 4.2k $76k (exactly $76,098) Quarks Interactive
The Bibites: Digital Life · EA $9.99 218 96% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) Omnia Studios
MouseCraft older $9.99 200 85% 6.0k $60k (exactly $59,940) Crunching Koalas
Sandboxels $0.99 1,108 94% 33k $33k (exactly $32,908) R74n
SuperPosition $7.99 16 100% 480 $3.8k (exactly $3,835) Kimel
OCTOPTICOM 3D $14.99 3 100% 90 $1.3k (exactly $1,349) UP DEVELOPMENT LTD.
Petrix $9.99 1 100% 30 $300 (exactly $300) Dams-Labs
Luminatory $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Halfbeast Studio
Gooey $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Turbo Pixel

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