Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Trains

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Train Level Editor game?

Level Editor + Trains

Only 10 developers shipped a Train 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, Unrailed 2: Back on Track, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 11 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $43k, ×69 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $13k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×1713 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 11 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 68.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 11 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Trains
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 10
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $6.9k → $95k
Outcomes for Level Editor + Trains: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 10
Bottom 30% $12k (exactly $12,225)
Median $43k (exactly $43,189)
Top 25% $116k (exactly $115,964)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862)
Developers, 2 yr 10
Released games 36
Announced 11
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.95

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 as many developers as the period before.

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
Trains
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
Price point
$11.95 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 3,039 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $13k, median $43k, 1 in 4 over $110k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $13k. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 11 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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. + MilitaryPoor odds22 devs · median $43k · 46 announced
  10. + City BuilderPoor odds20 devs · median $24k · 50 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds36 devs · median $19k · 111 announced
  12. + Open WorldPoor odds28 devs · median $18k · 59 announced

All 136 pairs on the Level Editor page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Train Simulator Classic 2015 · $18M Rise of Industry 2019 · $2.8M Factory Town 2021 · $2.5M Mashinky 2018 · EA · $1.8M Rolling Line 2018 · $1.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Train Simulator Classic older $29.99 19,461 73% 584k $18M (exactly $17,509,062) Dovetail Games
Rise of Industry older $29.99 3,122 74% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,808,863) Dapper Penguin Studios
Factory Town older $19.99 4,142 90% 124k $2.5M (exactly $2,483,957) Erik Asmussen
Mashinky · EA older $24.99 2,361 84% 71k $1.8M (exactly $1,770,042) Jan Zelený
Rolling Line older $19.99 2,449 96% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,468,665) Gaugepunk Games
Trainz Railroad Simulator 2022 older $39.99 1,214 74% 36k $1.5M (exactly $1,456,436) N3V Games
Sweet Transit older $34.99 1,119 67% 34k $1.2M (exactly $1,174,614) Ernestas Norvaišas
Unrailed 2: Back on Track $19.99 1,794 88% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862) Indoor Astronaut
Train Valley 2 older $14.99 2,356 90% 71k $1.1M (exactly $1,059,493) Alexey Davydov, Sergey Dvoynikov, Timof… (Alexey Davydov, Sergey Dvoynikov, Timofey Shargorodskiy, Flazm)
ZUSI 3 - Aerosoft Edition older $69.99 322 90% 9.7k $676k (exactly $676,103) Carsten Hölscher
Train Sim World® 7 $49.99 278 74% 8.3k $417k (exactly $416,917) Dovetail Games
Islands & Trains $6.99 553 89% 17k $116k (exactly $115,964) Akos Makovics
Train Valley Origins $11.95 266 75% 8.0k $95k (exactly $95,361) Flazm
A-Train 9 V5.0 : Japan Train Simulator Ultimate Edition $39.99 36 77% 1.1k $43k (exactly $43,189) ARTDINK
TRS22 Model Railroaders Edition $39.99 15 66% 450 $18k (exactly $17,996) N3V Games
The Lilliput Workshop $7.99 51 88% 1.5k $12k (exactly $12,225) Cotton Game
Keys of Fury: Typing Action $4.99 42 97% 1.3k $6.3k (exactly $6,287) Elecorn
Rails & Rivals · EA $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) tnycnsn
Shane's Trains · EA $5.99 1 100% 30 $180 (exactly $180) Shane Ewing

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