Do I ship it?

GamesPhysicsPhysics + Mechs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mech Physics game?

Physics + Mechs

Of 20 developers who shipped a Mech Physics 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.. 32 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $7.2k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $570k, ×922 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 32 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 11.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 32 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Physics + Mechs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 20
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $269 → $3.1k → $30k → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Physics + Mechs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 20
Bottom 30% $1.2k (exactly $1,169)
Median $7.2k (exactly $7,196)
Top 25% $38k (exactly $37,775)
Top 5% $579k (exactly $578,768)
Developers, 2 yr 20
Released games 53
Announced 32
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $12.99

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 70% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Physics
effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning
Mechs
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Physics; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Simulation
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, VR
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 2,400 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.2k, median $7.2k, 1 in 4 over $37k, 1 in 20 over $570k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Physics with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderStrong odds31 devs · median $8.1k · 30 announced
  2. + Dating SimFair28 devs · median $5.9k · 20 announced
  3. + PinballFair62 devs · median $2.5k · 80 announced
  4. + World War IIFair11 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  5. + Mini GolfFair40 devs · median $1.2k · 44 announced
  6. + GolfFair55 devs · median $987 · 59 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair179 devs · median $718 · 230 announced
  8. + IdlerFair142 devs · median $718 · 167 announced
  9. + Hidden ObjectFair162 devs · median $600 · 157 announced
  10. + CatsFair76 devs · median $599 · 101 announced
  11. + Mystery DungeonFair22 devs · median $539 · 20 announced
  12. + BilliardsFair36 devs · median $538 · 32 announced

All 251 pairs on the Physics page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Phantom Brigade older $29.99 4,412 81% 132k $4.0M (exactly $3,969,476) Brace Yourself Games
UNDERDOGS older $29.99 2,788 97% 84k $2.5M (exactly $2,508,364) One Hamsa
Vox Machinae older $29.99 1,177 87% 35k $1.1M (exactly $1,058,947) Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation
Instruments of Destruction older $19.99 1,429 91% 43k $857k (exactly $856,971) Radiangames
IRON REBELLION $24.99 772 84% 23k $579k (exactly $578,768) Black Beach Studio
Intrusion 2 older $9.99 1,667 93% 50k $500k (exactly $499,600) Aleksei Abramenko
Mech Mechanic Simulator older $19.99 538 61% 16k $323k (exactly $322,639) Polyslash
Monster: Titan's Playground · EA $29.99 273 91% 8.2k $246k (exactly $245,618) Stellar Knights
Mech Havoc · EA $9.99 813 96% 24k $244k (exactly $243,656) Mid Development
ACTION SANDBOX older $9.99 787 73% 24k $236k (exactly $235,864) Vona Soft
Age Of Warbots $9.99 160 83% 4.8k $48k (exactly $47,952) VDimension
Electro Bop Boxing League $14.99 84 79% 2.5k $38k (exactly $37,775) Developer Dob
Haneda Girl $14.99 74 94% 2.2k $33k (exactly $33,278) Studio Koba
Ironsand $7.49 142 68% 4.3k $32k (exactly $31,907) Renderise
Titan Isles $24.99 40 95% 1.2k $30k (exactly $29,988) Psytec Games Ltd
Fast Royal $14.99 30 100% 900 $13k (exactly $13,491) Edos Interactive
Typhon: Bot vs Bot · EA $19.99 12 75% 360 $7.2k (exactly $7,196) Brightshade Games

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