Do I ship it?

GamesRacingRacing + Noir

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Noir Racing game?

Racing + Noir

Only 11 developers shipped a Noir 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, Synthwave Burnout, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 5 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 8 developers shipped in the last year and 5 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 380% on the market, 5 announced, ×0.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Racing + Noir
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Racing + Noir: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $270 (exactly $270)
Median $418 (exactly $418)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 5% $293k (exactly $292,665)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 30
Announced 5
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 380% on the market, supply 165% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Racing
effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling, track content and opponent AI
Noir
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Racing
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 8 games average 75% positive over 799 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $420, 1 in 4 over $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $290k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 5 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + CapitalismStrong odds14 devs · median $8.6k · 7 announced
  2. + ModernFair32 devs · median $3.3k · 34 announced
  3. + TransportationFair39 devs · median $2.3k · 35 announced
  4. + AutomationFair11 devs · median $1.9k · 12 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair8 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  6. + Time AttackFair44 devs · median $748 · 42 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair11 devs · median $657 · 10 announced
  8. + Time ManipulationFair10 devs · median $599 · 12 announced
  9. + IdlerFair19 devs · median $505 · 13 announced
  10. + Choices MatterFair51 devs · median $449 · 54 announced
  11. + City BuilderLong shot12 devs · median $299 · 9 announced
  12. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds14 devs · median $34k · 37 announced

All 165 pairs on the Racing page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mafia: Definitive Edition older $39.99 88,955 86% 2.7M $107M (exactly $106,719,314) Hangar 13
Race The Sun older $9.99 1,974 93% 59k $592k (exactly $591,608) Flippfly LLC
Heading Out older $19.99 639 74% 19k $383k (exactly $383,208) Serious Sim, Crunching Koalas
Synthwave Burnout $12.99 751 74% 23k $293k (exactly $292,665) Whale Rock Games
7th Sector older $10.99 643 72% 19k $212k (exactly $211,997) Носков Сергей
Squad 51 vs. the Flying Saucers older $19.99 199 91% 6.0k $119k (exactly $119,340) Loomiarts, Fehorama Filmes
CyberTaxi older $9.99 178 64% 5.3k $53k (exactly $53,347) Projects from Basement
Street Heat older $7.99 17 58% 510 $4.1k (exactly $4,075) Astalo Games
Octopus Goulash $12.99 10 70% 300 $3.9k (exactly $3,897) Alessio Serenellini
Arcade Moonlander older $0.99 94 96% 2.8k $2.8k (exactly $2,792) Daniel Paul Griffin
Neon Highways $5.99 14 92% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Flowbit Studio
Highway Noir $11.99 2 50% 60 $719 (exactly $719) Archangel Softworks
Dead Head Drive $6.99 2 100% 60 $419 (exactly $419) Sleepdiver
Stickman 3D Wingsuit DELUXE $1.99 7 71% 210 $418 (exactly $418) Yurii Nikshych
Nightrunner $0.99 12 100% 360 $356 (exactly $356) Planetary Gears
星界远航 Stellar Realm Voyage · EA $8.99 1 100% 30 $270 (exactly $270) SGAIZFTX
Heistfest · EA $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Amilcar Technologies
Final Rider $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Delirium Interactive

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