Do I ship it?

GamesOpen WorldOpen World + Vehicular Combat

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Vehicular Combat Open World game?

Open World + Vehicular Combat

Of 45 developers who shipped a Vehicular Combat Open World 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.. 97 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $15k, ×10 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $22M, ×15301 the market median. Revenue is up 3640% on the market; 97 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 3640% on the market, 97 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + Vehicular Combat
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 45
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $299 → $807 → $18k → $50k → $6.9k → $128k → $41k (still earning) → $229k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World + Vehicular Combat: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 45
Bottom 30% $718 (exactly $718)
Median $15k (exactly $15,290)
Top 25% $439k (exactly $438,542)
Top 5% $23M (exactly $22,921,415)
Developers, 2 yr 45
Released games 136
Announced 97
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $14.99

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 3640% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Vehicular Combat
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Open World, Vehicular Combat; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Exploration
Price point
$14.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 128,827 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $15k, 1 in 4 over $430k, 1 in 20 over $22M.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 97 games are announced against 31 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Open World with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
WARDOGS · EA $39.99 58,250 81% 1.7M $70M (exactly $69,882,525) BULKHEAD
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced $59.99 26,652 81% 800k $48M (exactly $47,965,604) Ubisoft Singapore, Ubisoft Barcelona, U… (Ubisoft Singapore, Ubisoft Barcelona, Ubisoft Bordeaux, Ubisoft Belgrade, Ubisoft Chengdu, Ubisoft India, Ubisoft Kyiv, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Philippines, Ubisoft Quebec, Ubisoft Shanghai, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Romania)
Mad Max older $19.99 57,651 91% 1.7M $35M (exactly $34,573,305) Avalanche Studios
Trailmakers older $24.99 33,465 92% 1.0M $25M (exactly $25,088,710) Flashbulb
Need for Speed™ Payback older $29.99 27,424 85% 823k $25M (exactly $24,673,373) Ghost Games
Tokyo Xtreme Racer $49.99 15,284 93% 459k $23M (exactly $22,921,415) Genki Co., Ltd.
RAGE 2 older $39.99 14,019 64% 421k $17M (exactly $16,818,594) id Software, Avalanche Studios
TerraTech older $24.99 20,564 92% 617k $15M (exactly $15,416,831) Payload Studios
Need for Speed™ Most Wanted older $19.99 25,197 77% 756k $15M (exactly $15,110,641) Criterion Games
Need for Speed™ Hot Pursuit Remastered older $29.99 13,583 81% 407k $12M (exactly $12,220,625) Stellar Entertainment Limited
SAND: Raiders of Sophie · EA $24.99 12,485 49% 375k $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) Hologryph, TowerHaus
Wreckfest 2 · EA $34.99 5,578 73% 167k $5.9M (exactly $5,855,227) Bugbear
Lost Skies $24.99 2,470 63% 74k $1.9M (exactly $1,851,759) Bossa Studios
FUMES · EA $14.99 2,816 95% 84k $1.3M (exactly $1,266,355) FUMES team
Killer Bean · EA $14.99 2,272 73% 68k $1.0M (exactly $1,021,718) Killer Bean Studios LLC
SimplePlanes 2 · EA $19.99 1,316 92% 39k $789k (exactly $789,205) Jundroo, LLC
Vietnam War · EA $14.99 1,704 84% 51k $766k (exactly $766,289) Thorium Game Lab

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