Do I ship it?

GamesSportsSports + Perma Death

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Perma Death Sports game?

Sports + Perma Death

Only 16 developers shipped a Perma Death Sports 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, Exo Rally Championship, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 12 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×6.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $940; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×446 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 12 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 12 announced, ×0.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sports + Perma Death
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $30 → $1.8k → $1.2k (still earning) → $932 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sports + Perma Death: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $932 (exactly $932)
Median $4.2k (exactly $4,196)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $13,663)
Top 5% $280k (exactly $280,388)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 39
Announced 12
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 80% on the market, supply 335% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Sports
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Perma Death
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
Sports, Perma Death
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 823 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $940, median $4.2k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $940. 12 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds17 devs · median $4.2k · 9 announced
  2. + CraftingFair24 devs · median $37k · 26 announced
  3. + Strategy RPGFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  4. + SandboxFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  5. + Split ScreenFair58 devs · median $4.0k · 52 announced
  6. + Dating SimFair29 devs · median $3.6k · 21 announced
  7. + Visual NovelFair38 devs · median $3.4k · 31 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair14 devs · median $3.4k · 13 announced
  9. + FMVFair17 devs · median $2.7k · 5 announced
  10. + BikesFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 18 announced
  11. + Immersive SimFair182 devs · median $2.4k · 185 announced
  12. + Choices MatterFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced

All 199 pairs on the Sports page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Exo Rally Championship $24.99 374 90% 11k $280k (exactly $280,388) Exbleative
Golfie older $17.99 275 66% 8.3k $148k (exactly $148,418) Triheart Studio
Hangtime! $9.99 250 77% 7.5k $75k (exactly $74,925) Leo Langlois
Dungeon Deathball older $11.99 193 95% 5.8k $69k (exactly $69,422) Matt Glanville
Up to Par $19.99 49 73% 1.5k $29k (exactly $29,385) It's Anecdotal
SPORTAL $7.99 57 94% 1.7k $14k (exactly $13,663) Sleepwalking Potatoes
An Other Golf Game · EA $6.99 46 86% 1.4k $9.6k (exactly $9,646) waxycaps
Not a Masterpıece older $24.99 12 91% 360 $9.0k (exactly $8,996) Gamesforgames
Brutal Ball Manager 2 · EA $9.99 18 100% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) Stout Kassel Games
Unbreakable Vr Runner older $3.99 44 97% 1.3k $5.3k (exactly $5,267) Miikka Åsnabrygg
Ironblood · EA $19.99 7 71% 210 $4.2k (exactly $4,198) Jack Wilds
Turn Based Boxing: Tactics - Legends Edition $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) The Slanted Room
Overton $14.99 4 75% 120 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) Casey Blase
Guild Manager $9.99 4 25% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) Benjamin King

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