Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Level Editor game?

Level Editor + Space

Of 24 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 56 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 $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×497 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 56 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 56 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.8k → $3.8k → $60 → $839 → $599 → $719 → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,356)
Top 5% $312k (exactly $312,196)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 105
Announced 56
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 75% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Space
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Combat
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 3D, Fast-Paced
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,320 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 $480, 1 in 4 over $3.3k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 14 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

SPORE™ Galactic Adventures 2009 · $4.3M Creeper World 4 2020 · $3.4M Juno: New Origins 2023 · $1.9M Particle Fleet: Emergence 2016 · $538k Creeper World IXE 2024 · $513k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SPORE™ Galactic Adventures older $19.99 7,249 89% 217k $4.3M (exactly $4,347,225) EA - Maxis
Creeper World 4 older $24.99 4,553 94% 137k $3.4M (exactly $3,413,384) Knuckle Cracker
Juno: New Origins older $19.99 3,085 89% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,850,074) Jundroo, LLC
Particle Fleet: Emergence older $14.99 1,197 92% 36k $538k (exactly $538,291) 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
Variables 2 older $14.99 418 90% 13k $188k (exactly $187,975) Asteroid Game Studio
CounterAttack: Uprising older $14.99 272 90% 8.2k $122k (exactly $122,318) Relative Games
Crystal Caves HD older $7.99 319 98% 9.6k $76k (exactly $76,464) Emberheart Games
Immortal Defense older $9.99 178 84% 5.3k $53k (exactly $53,347) Studio Eres
Star Racer $9.99 59 93% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,682) Whatnot Games
RAGER $19.99 16 100% 480 $9.6k (exactly $9,595) Insane Prey
Supersonic Bridge Racing $11.99 11 100% 330 $4.0k (exactly $3,957) Stumi Games
UniWar $7.99 14 71% 420 $3.4k (exactly $3,356) Spooky House
Falling Stars... and other celestial objects $12.99 7 100% 210 $2.7k (exactly $2,728) From The Moon
HEXA $8.00 4 100% 120 $960 (exactly $960) Rae
Gravity Drop $6.99 4 100% 120 $839 (exactly $839) Octopie Lab
RollBot $7.99 3 100% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Tsukoni

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