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Should I ship a War Level Editor game?
Level Editor + War
Of 27 developers who shipped a War 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.. 58 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $14k, ×23 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.8k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.2M, ×14712 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 58 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
|---|---|
| Median | $14k (exactly $14,386) |
| Top 25% | $176k (exactly $176,356) |
| Top 5% | $9.2M (exactly $9,239,303) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 27 |
| Released games | 83 |
| Announced | 58 |
| 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 100% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
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
- War
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Level Editor; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RTS, Tactical
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 44,115 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 3 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Level Editor with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + AutomationLong shot
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition 2020 · $39M 
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront 2021 · $34M 
Command & Conquer™ Remastered Collection 2020 · $19M 
VTOL VR 2017 · $18M 
Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition | older | $34.99 | 37,093 84% | 1.1M | $39M (exactly $38,936,522) | World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten… (World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten Empires) |
| | Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront | older | $34.99 | 32,183 85% | 965k | $34M (exactly $33,782,495) | Barbedwire Studios, Digitalmindsoft |
| | Command & Conquer™ Remastered Collection | older | $19.99 | 31,503 90% | 945k | $19M (exactly $18,892,349) | Petroglyph, Lemon Sky Studios |
| | VTOL VR | older | $29.99 | 19,885 98% | 597k | $18M (exactly $17,890,534) | Boundless Dynamics, LLC |
| | Diplomacy is Not an Option | $29.99 | 10,904 85% | 327k | $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) | Door 407 | |
 | Door Kickers 2: Task Force North | $24.99 | 12,324 96% | 370k | $9.2M (exactly $9,239,303) | KillHouse Games | |
 | Nuclear Option | · EA older | $19.99 | 10,275 95% | 308k | $6.2M (exactly $6,161,917) | Shockfront Studios |
 | Age of History 3 | $9.99 | 18,102 85% | 543k | $5.4M (exactly $5,425,169) | Łukasz Jakowski | |
 | Sudden Strike 4 | older | $19.99 | 6,249 78% | 187k | $3.7M (exactly $3,747,525) | Kite Games |
 | Creeper World 4 | older | $24.99 | 4,553 94% | 137k | $3.4M (exactly $3,413,384) | Knuckle Cracker |
 | Creeper World IXE | $19.99 | 855 69% | 26k | $513k (exactly $512,743) | Knuckle Cracker | |
 | Warside | $24.99 | 547 68% | 16k | $410k (exactly $410,086) | LAVABIRD | |
 | Annihilate The Spance | · EA | $29.99 | 347 90% | 10k | $312k (exactly $312,196) | Skyglow Softworks |
 | Armored Brigade II | $39.99 | 147 87% | 4.4k | $176k (exactly $176,356) | Veitikka Studios | |
 | Block Fortress 2 | $19.99 | 264 81% | 7.9k | $158k (exactly $158,321) | Foursaken Media | |
 | States of Power | $11.99 | 344 88% | 10k | $124k (exactly $123,737) | Sarunas | |
 | Plastic Battlegrounds | · EA | $9.99 | 281 89% | 8.4k | $84k (exactly $84,216) | Simulated Minds |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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