Do I ship it?

Games › Physics › Physics + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot Physics game?

Physics + Robots

Of 98 developers who shipped a Robot Physics 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.. 216 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $570k, ×922 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 216 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 216 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Physics + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 98
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $299 → $1.4k → $716 → $1.8k → $1.7k → $719 (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Physics + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 98
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,169)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,089)
Top 5% $579k (exactly $578,768)
Developers, 2 yr 98
Released games 310
Announced 216
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.49

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 45% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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.

Physics
effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning
Robots
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Physics; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Combat
Price point
$7.49 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.49.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 350,633 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $570k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 48 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 216 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderStrong odds31 devs · median $8.1k · 30 announced
  2. + Dating SimFair28 devs · median $5.9k · 20 announced
  3. + PinballFair62 devs · median $2.5k · 80 announced
  4. + World War IIFair11 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  5. + Mini GolfFair40 devs · median $1.2k · 44 announced
  6. + GolfFair55 devs · median $987 · 59 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair179 devs · median $718 · 230 announced
  8. + IdlerFair142 devs · median $718 · 167 announced
  9. + Hidden ObjectFair162 devs · median $600 · 157 announced
  10. + CatsFair76 devs · median $599 · 101 announced
  11. + Mystery DungeonFair22 devs · median $539 · 20 announced
  12. + BilliardsFair36 devs · median $538 · 32 announced

All 251 pairs on the Physics page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

R.E.P.O. 2025 · EA · $102M TerraTech 2018 · $15M Phantom Brigade 2023 · $4.0M Animal Revolt Battle Simulator 2022 · $3.0M Job Simulator 2016 · $2.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
R.E.P.O. · EA $9.99 341,004 96% 10M $102M (exactly $102,198,899) semiwork
TerraTech older $24.99 20,564 92% 617k $15M (exactly $15,416,831) Payload Studios
Phantom Brigade older $29.99 4,412 81% 132k $4.0M (exactly $3,969,476) Brace Yourself Games
Animal Revolt Battle Simulator older $14.99 6,571 95% 197k $3.0M (exactly $2,954,979) VDimension
Job Simulator older $19.99 4,406 91% 132k $2.6M (exactly $2,642,278) Owlchemy Labs
VOID/BREAKER · EA $29.99 2,506 91% 75k $2.3M (exactly $2,254,648) Stubby Games
Mars First Logistics $19.99 3,497 94% 105k $2.1M (exactly $2,097,151) Shape Shop
Vox Machinae older $29.99 1,177 87% 35k $1.1M (exactly $1,058,947) Space Bullet Dynamics Corporation
Nimbatus - The Space Drone Constructor older $19.99 1,758 78% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,054,273) Stray Fawn Studio
Grow Home older $7.99 3,969 93% 119k $951k (exactly $951,369) Reflections, a Ubisoft Studio
Arken Age $39.99 669 90% 20k $803k (exactly $802,599) VitruviusVR
IRON REBELLION $24.99 772 84% 23k $579k (exactly $578,768) Black Beach Studio
Astronomics · EA $19.99 706 89% 21k $423k (exactly $423,388) Numizmatic
Annihilate The Spance · EA $29.99 347 90% 10k $312k (exactly $312,196) Skyglow Softworks
Reach $29.99 244 66% 7.3k $220k (exactly $219,527) nDreams Elevation
JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator $17.99 378 76% 11k $204k (exactly $204,007) Prof. Scherer
BAIONLENJA · EA $12.99 510 97% 15k $199k (exactly $198,747) BAION

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