Do I ship it?

GamesSportsSports + Level Editor

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Sports game?

Sports + Level Editor

Of 29 developers who shipped a Level Editor Sports 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.. 53 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.0k, ×9.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×263 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 53 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 53 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sports + Level Editor
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.2k → $58k → $36k → $59k → $5.9k → $4.9k → $11k (still earning) → $2.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sports + Level Editor: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $2.1k (exactly $2,098)
Median $6.0k (exactly $5,988)
Top 25% $55k (exactly $55,186)
Top 5% $165k (exactly $164,942)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 119
Announced 53
Effort 6 / 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 85% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Sports
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Sports, Level Editor; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Action
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, Text-Based
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 2,050 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.1k, median $6.0k, 1 in 4 over $55k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.1k. 5 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Sports with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds17 devs · median $4.2k · 9 announced
  2. + CraftingFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Strategy RPGFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  4. + SandboxFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  5. + Split ScreenFair58 devs · median $4.0k · 52 announced
  6. + Dating SimFair29 devs · median $3.6k · 21 announced
  7. + Visual NovelFair38 devs · median $3.4k · 31 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair14 devs · median $3.4k · 13 announced
  9. + FMVFair17 devs · median $2.7k · 5 announced
  10. + BikesFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 18 announced
  11. + Immersive SimFair182 devs · median $2.4k · 185 announced
  12. + Choices MatterFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced

All 199 pairs on the Sports page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SpeedRunners older $14.99 22,842 94% 685k $10M (exactly $10,272,047) DoubleDutch Games
Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing older $19.99 13,633 95% 409k $8.2M (exactly $8,175,710) LuGus Studios
Golf It! older $8.99 24,695 90% 741k $6.7M (exactly $6,660,242) Perfuse Entertainment
Cricket 24 older $44.99 2,435 79% 73k $3.3M (exactly $3,286,520) Big Ant Studios
Trackmania United Forever older $29.99 2,488 94% 75k $2.2M (exactly $2,238,454) Nadeo
AO Tennis 2 older $49.99 1,236 70% 37k $1.9M (exactly $1,853,629) Big Ant Studios
TrackMania² Stadium older $9.99 5,340 88% 160k $1.6M (exactly $1,600,398) Nadeo
Trials Fusion™ older $19.99 2,285 66% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,370,314) RedLynx, in collaboration with Ubisoft… (RedLynx, in collaboration with Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Kiev)
Trials Evolution: Gold Edition older $19.99 2,253 74% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,351,124) Redlynx Ltd, Ubisoft Shanghaï
Zeepkist · EA older $19.99 1,555 97% 47k $933k (exactly $932,533) Steelpan Interactive
Torque Drift 2 · EA $19.99 376 62% 11k $225k (exactly $225,487) Grease Monkey Games
ReCharge RC: High Voltage · EA $13.99 393 95% 12k $165k (exactly $164,942) Hondune Games
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
Rocket Boots Mania $14.99 229 99% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Luma Play
CFS (Chinese Football Simulator) $9.99 290 67% 8.7k $87k (exactly $86,913) 悟空实验室
Sailaway III $15.99 158 68% 4.7k $76k (exactly $75,793) Orbcreation BV
World of Football · EA $9.99 197 81% 5.9k $59k (exactly $59,041) Vault Game Studio
Tennis Manager 26 $39.99 46 73% 1.4k $55k (exactly $55,186) Rebound
BMX Bastards · EA $16.99 71 85% 2.1k $36k (exactly $36,189) CSF Games Studio

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