Games › Racing › Racing + Local Multiplayer
Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Racing game?
Racing + Local Multiplayer
Of 106 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer Racing 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.. 148 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×464 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 148 games are announced against 56 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) |
| Top 25% | $8.5k (exactly $8,544) |
| Top 5% | $292k (exactly $291,527) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 106 |
| Released games | 484 |
| Announced | 148 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 25% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Racing
- effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling, track content and opponent AI
- Local Multiplayer
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Racing, Local Multiplayer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry PvP, Split Screen, Driving
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Family Friendly, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 16,719 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 65 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 148 games are announced against 56 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Racing with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + CapitalismStrong odds
- + ModernFair
- + TransportationFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Time ManipulationFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + City BuilderLong shot
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds | $69.99 | 11,479 93% | 344k | $24M (exactly $24,102,456) | Sonic Team | |
| | SpeedRunners | older | $14.99 | 22,842 94% | 685k | $10M (exactly $10,272,047) | DoubleDutch Games |
| | Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Collection | older | $19.99 | 11,912 93% | 357k | $7.1M (exactly $7,143,626) | Sumo Digital |
| | Sonic Adventure 2 | older | $9.99 | 23,755 90% | 713k | $7.1M (exactly $7,119,374) | SEGA |
| | Road Redemption | older | $19.99 | 10,842 83% | 325k | $6.5M (exactly $6,501,947) | Redemption Road, Pixel Dash Studios |
| | DIRT 5 | older | $59.99 | 3,530 59% | 106k | $6.4M (exactly $6,352,941) | Codemasters |
| | FlatOut 2 | older | $9.99 | 19,466 95% | 584k | $5.8M (exactly $5,833,960) | Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Me… (Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Media, Jordan Freeman Group) |
| | RIDE 5 | older | $49.99 | 3,368 82% | 101k | $5.1M (exactly $5,050,990) | Milestone S.r.l. |
| | HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™ | older | $29.99 | 5,427 81% | 163k | $4.9M (exactly $4,882,672) | Milestone S.r.l. |
| | Garfield Kart - Furious Racing | older | $14.99 | 10,475 88% | 314k | $4.7M (exactly $4,710,608) | Artefacts Studio |
| | The Karters 2: Turbo Charged | · EA | $29.99 | 1,043 91% | 31k | $938k (exactly $938,387) | Pixel Edge Games |
| | MotoGP™25 | $49.99 | 592 74% | 18k | $888k (exactly $887,822) | Milestone S.r.l. | |
| | Monster Energy Supercross 25 - The Official Video Game | $59.99 | 276 49% | 8.3k | $497k (exactly $496,717) | Milestone S.r.l. | |
| | MotoGP™26 | $59.99 | 225 64% | 6.8k | $405k (exactly $404,932) | Milestone S.r.l. | |
| | Victory Heat Rally | $19.99 | 599 88% | 18k | $359k (exactly $359,220) | Skydevilpalm | |
| | WheelMates | $19.99 | 496 75% | 15k | $297k (exactly $297,451) | Firevolt | |
| | World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing 24 Gold Edition | $39.99 | 243 89% | 7.3k | $292k (exactly $291,527) | Monster Games, Amber | |
| | Paddle Paddle Paddle | $4.99 | 1,584 86% | 48k | $237k (exactly $237,125) | Zoroarts | |
| | Tour de France 2025 | $39.99 | 182 77% | 5.5k | $218k (exactly $218,345) | Cyanide Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.