Do I ship it?

Games › Racing › Racing + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Racing game?

Racing + Platformer

Of 224 developers who shipped a Platformer Racing 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.. 246 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 123 developers shipped in the last year and 246 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 246 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Racing + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 224
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $776 → $599 → $1.2k → $359 → $449 → $299 → $240 (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Racing + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 224
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,158)
Top 5% $49k (exactly $48,957)
Developers, 2 yr 224
Released games 676
Announced 246
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 50% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Platformer
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, Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 3D Platformer, Parkour
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 19,553 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $300, 1 in 4 over $2.1k, 1 in 20 over $48k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 139 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 246 games are announced against 123 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Racing with a different second tag, 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

SpeedRunners 2016 · $10M Haste 2025 · $7.6M Sonic Adventure 2 2012 · $7.1M Clustertruck 2016 · $6.6M Distance 2018 · $4.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SpeedRunners older $14.99 22,842 94% 685k $10M (exactly $10,272,047) DoubleDutch Games
Haste $19.99 12,690 92% 381k $7.6M (exactly $7,610,193) Landfall
Sonic Adventure 2 older $9.99 23,755 90% 713k $7.1M (exactly $7,119,374) SEGA
Clustertruck older $14.99 14,706 93% 441k $6.6M (exactly $6,613,288) Landfall
Distance older $24.99 5,832 93% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) Refract
Sonic Adventure DX older $7.99 15,692 92% 471k $3.8M (exactly $3,761,372) SEGA
Hot Lava older $19.99 5,335 92% 160k $3.2M (exactly $3,199,399) Klei Entertainment
Denshattack! $19.99 2,910 98% 87k $1.7M (exactly $1,745,127) Undercoders
Trials® Rising older $19.99 2,860 62% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,715,142) RedLynx
PAC-MAN WORLD Re-PAC older $29.99 1,644 92% 49k $1.5M (exactly $1,479,107) NOW PRODUCTION
WheelMates $19.99 496 75% 15k $297k (exactly $297,451) Firevolt
Paddle Paddle Paddle $4.99 1,584 86% 48k $237k (exactly $237,125) Zoroarts
3dSen PC $14.99 524 91% 16k $236k (exactly $235,643) Geod Studio
SpeedRunners 2: King of Speed $9.99 447 55% 13k $134k (exactly $133,966) Fair Play Labs
Ultimate Sheep Raccoon $19.99 205 45% 6.2k $123k (exactly $122,938) Clever Endeavour Games
Rocket Boots Mania $14.99 229 99% 6.9k $103k (exactly $102,981) Luma Play
KilaFlow $19.99 134 97% 4.0k $80k (exactly $80,360) Chao Kompany LLC
Head's Adventures:chibichibi $7.99 334 97% 10k $80k (exactly $80,060) ManaWanderer

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