Games › Racing › Racing + Music
Should I ship a Music Racing game?
Racing + Music
Only 16 developers shipped a Music Racing 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, Wheel World, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 21 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×702 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 21 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,612) |
| Top 25% | $9.6k (exactly $9,598) |
| Top 5% | $441k (exactly $440,779) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 82 |
| Announced | 21 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 25% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 5%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Racing; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Arcade
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 1,881 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Racing with a different setting or mood, 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
Need for Speed™ Unbound 2022 · $105M 
AudioSurf 2008 · $2.7M 
Thumper 2016 · $2.4M 
Audiosurf 2 2015 · $2.4M 
Retrowave 2022 · $1.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Need for Speed™ Unbound | older | $69.99 | 49,862 61% | 1.5M | $105M (exactly $104,695,241) | Criterion Games |
| | AudioSurf | older | $9.99 | 8,901 95% | 267k | $2.7M (exactly $2,667,630) | Dylan Fitterer |
| | Thumper | older | $19.99 | 4,056 91% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,432,383) | Drool |
| | Audiosurf 2 | older | $14.99 | 5,364 82% | 161k | $2.4M (exactly $2,412,191) | Dylan Fitterer |
| | Retrowave | older | $2.99 | 13,742 96% | 412k | $1.2M (exactly $1,232,657) | RewindApp |
 | TAPSONIC BOLD | older | $19.99 | 1,132 75% | 34k | $679k (exactly $678,860) | NEOWIZ |
 | Crashday Redline Edition | older | $11.99 | 1,528 89% | 46k | $550k (exactly $549,622) | Moonbyte |
 | Neon Drive | older | $9.99 | 1,664 86% | 50k | $499k (exactly $498,701) | Fraoula, Spiky Crumb |
 | Razortron 2000 | older | $4.99 | 3,045 86% | 91k | $456k (exactly $455,836) | NukGames |
 | Wheel World | $19.99 | 735 90% | 22k | $441k (exactly $440,779) | Messhof | |
 | Synthwave Burnout | $12.99 | 751 74% | 23k | $293k (exactly $292,665) | Whale Rock Games | |
 | Sex Beats | $9.99 | 62 77% | 1.9k | $19k (exactly $18,581) | Naku Kinoko | |
 | THRASHER | $9.99 | 45 91% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $13,486) | Puddle | |
 | Synthwave Driver | · EA | $2.99 | 107 86% | 3.2k | $9.6k (exactly $9,598) | Runebox Studios |
 | Dream Rhythm | $3.99 | 63 90% | 1.9k | $7.5k (exactly $7,541) | Naku Kinoko | |
 | Erotic Rhythm | $3.99 | 61 90% | 1.8k | $7.3k (exactly $7,302) | Naku Kinoko | |
 | Neon Highways | $5.99 | 14 92% | 420 | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) | Flowbit Studio | |
 | Miami Horizon 2077 | $4.90 | 16 75% | 480 | $2.4k (exactly $2,352) | CJ | |
 | Rhythmic Retro Racer | $1.99 | 27 74% | 810 | $1.6k (exactly $1,612) | Berzah Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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