Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Simulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Simulation game?

Level Editor + Simulation

Of 164 developers who shipped a Level Editor Simulation 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.. 246 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.2k, ×5.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $410k, ×664 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 246 games are announced against 97 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 246 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Simulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 164
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.4k → $4.7k → $3.6k → $36k → $3.2k → $4.3k → $3.9k (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Simulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 164
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $3.2k (exactly $3,232)
Top 25% $43k (exactly $43,189)
Top 5% $417k (exactly $416,917)
Developers, 2 yr 164
Released games 531
Announced 246
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 20% 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
Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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, Simulation; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sandbox, Strategy, Building
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 79,569 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $3.2k, 1 in 4 over $43k, 1 in 20 over $410k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 73 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 246 games are announced against 97 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

American Truck Simulator 2016 · $99M Timberborn 2026 · $40M Besiege 2020 · $22M VTOL VR 2017 · $18M Train Simulator Classic 2015 · $18M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
American Truck Simulator older $19.99 165,692 97% 5.0M $99M (exactly $99,365,492) SCS Software
Timberborn $34.99 38,529 95% 1.2M $40M (exactly $40,443,891) Mechanistry
Besiege older $14.99 48,045 95% 1.4M $22M (exactly $21,605,836) Spiderling Studios
VTOL VR older $29.99 19,885 98% 597k $18M (exactly $17,890,534) Boundless Dynamics, LLC
Train Simulator Classic older $29.99 19,461 73% 584k $18M (exactly $17,509,062) Dovetail Games
Blue Prince $29.99 17,498 85% 525k $16M (exactly $15,742,951) Dogubomb
Escape Simulator older $19.99 16,496 94% 495k $9.9M (exactly $9,892,651) Pine Studio
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
The Bus $39.99 7,831 73% 235k $9.4M (exactly $9,394,851) TML-Studios
Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing older $19.99 13,633 95% 409k $8.2M (exactly $8,175,710) LuGus Studios
Citadelum $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) Abylight Barcelona
Beatblock · EA $14.99 1,237 97% 37k $556k (exactly $556,279) BubbleTabby
Creeper World IXE $19.99 855 69% 26k $513k (exactly $512,743) Knuckle Cracker
Turbo Dismount® 2 $19.99 753 95% 23k $452k (exactly $451,574) Secret Exit Ltd.
Train Sim World® 7 $49.99 278 74% 8.3k $417k (exactly $416,917) Dovetail Games
Dungeon Warfare 3 $18.99 679 78% 20k $387k (exactly $386,826) Excidium Inc., Valsar

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