Games › Sports › Sports + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Sports game?
Sports + Modern
Of 33 developers who shipped a Modern-Day 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.. 36 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $420. Revenue is up 475% on the market; 36 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $418 (exactly $418) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,348) |
| Top 25% | $6.3k (exactly $6,296) |
| Top 5% | $969k (exactly $968,977) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 115 |
| Announced | 36 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 up 475% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sports; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Local Multiplayer, PvP
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 51% positive over 102,381 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Sports with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds
- + CraftingFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + SandboxFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + FMVFair
- + BikesFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Choices MatterFair
Comparable games
EA SPORTS FC™ 26 2025 · $209M 
Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing 2018 · $8.2M 
EZ2ON REBOOT : R 2022 · $8.1M 
Dakar Desert Rally 2022 · $1.3M 
Gym Simulator 24 2024 · $986k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | EA SPORTS FC™ 26 | $69.99 | 99,773 50% | 3.0M | $209M (exactly $209,493,368) | EA Canada, EA Romania | |
| | Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing | older | $19.99 | 13,633 95% | 409k | $8.2M (exactly $8,175,710) | LuGus Studios |
| | EZ2ON REBOOT : R | older | $44.99 | 5,972 91% | 179k | $8.1M (exactly $8,060,408) | Neonovice Co., Ltd., SQUARE PIXELS |
| | Dakar Desert Rally | older | $29.99 | 1,475 56% | 44k | $1.3M (exactly $1,327,058) | Saber Porto Ltd. |
| | Gym Simulator 24 | older | $12.99 | 2,531 84% | 76k | $986k (exactly $986,331) | Red Axe Games |
 | Tennis Elbow 4 | $29.99 | 1,077 96% | 32k | $969k (exactly $968,977) | Mana Games | |
 | GOAL! The Club Manager | · EA older | $29.99 | 364 33% | 11k | $327k (exactly $327,491) | 2tainment |
 | PowerBeatsVR - VR Fitness | older | $19.99 | 453 85% | 14k | $272k (exactly $271,664) | Five Mind Creations |
 | Tennis World Tour 2 | older | $39.99 | 202 49% | 6.1k | $242k (exactly $242,339) | Big Ant Studios |
 | Copa City: Matchday Manager | $24.99 | 247 72% | 7.4k | $185k (exactly $185,176) | Triple Espresso S.A. | |
 | Rollout Inline | · EA | $18.99 | 218 96% | 6.5k | $124k (exactly $124,195) | MLMEDIA |
 | Shooters, Ready! | $4.99 | 807 99% | 24k | $121k (exactly $120,808) | おこめたべたべず | |
 | Femboy Futa Mania 🌶️ | $14.99 | 174 71% | 5.2k | $78k (exactly $78,248) | Lewd Star | |
 | Only Pinball | · EA | $14.99 | 22 100% | 660 | $9.9k (exactly $9,893) | Malzbie Games |
 | Super Retro GP | · EA | $11.99 | 24 62% | 720 | $8.6k (exactly $8,633) | Dangerous Derk Interactive |
 | ACRODRIFT: FPV Drone Simulator | · EA | $14.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $6.3k (exactly $6,296) | Dueking Studio |
 | Karting4Fun | $7.99 | 25 76% | 750 | $6.0k (exactly $5,992) | LukasH |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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