Should I ship a PvE Sports game?
PvE + Sports
Of 143 developers who shipped a PvE Sports 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.. 162 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×387 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 162 games are announced against 86 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $4.2k (exactly $4,194) |
| Top 5% | $243k (exactly $242,951) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 143 |
| Released games | 395 |
| Announced | 162 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE, Sports; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry PvP, Simulation, Action
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 64% positive over 24,739 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 74 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 162 games are announced against 86 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
DJMAX RESPECT V 2020 · $45M 
Undisputed 2024 · $29M 
F1® Manager 2024 2024 · $5.8M 
Rival Stars Horse Racing: Desktop Edition 2020 · $4.5M 
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions 2024 · $2.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DJMAX RESPECT V | older | $49.99 | 29,808 88% | 894k | $45M (exactly $44,703,058) | NEOWIZ |
| | Undisputed | $49.99 | 19,190 60% | 576k | $29M (exactly $28,779,243) | Steel City Interactive | |
| | F1® Manager 2024 | older | $34.99 | 5,554 83% | 167k | $5.8M (exactly $5,830,034) | Frontier Developments |
| | Rival Stars Horse Racing: Desktop Edition | older | $29.99 | 5,032 91% | 151k | $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) | PikPok |
| | Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions | older | $29.99 | 2,790 73% | 84k | $2.5M (exactly $2,510,163) | Unbroken Studios |
 | KartKraft™ | older | $24.99 | 2,987 73% | 90k | $2.2M (exactly $2,239,354) | Motorsport Games |
 | Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash | older | $44.99 | 1,429 75% | 43k | $1.9M (exactly $1,928,721) | Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works |
 | TRAIL OUT | older | $19.99 | 3,019 81% | 91k | $1.8M (exactly $1,810,494) | GOOD BOYS |
 | TopSpin 2K25 | older | $19.99 | 2,040 57% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,223,388) | Hangar 13 |
 | MotoGP™24 | older | $39.99 | 996 83% | 30k | $1.2M (exactly $1,194,901) | Milestone S.r.l. |
 | RIDE 6 | $59.99 | 549 68% | 16k | $988k (exactly $988,035) | Milestone S.r.l. | |
 | CarX Drift Racing Online 2 | · EA | $24.99 | 1,222 71% | 37k | $916k (exactly $916,133) | CarX Technologies, LLC |
 | MotoGP™25 | $49.99 | 592 74% | 18k | $888k (exactly $887,822) | Milestone S.r.l. | |
 | NBA THE RUN | $29.99 | 900 68% | 27k | $810k (exactly $809,730) | Play by Play Studios | |
 | Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders | $24.99 | 749 91% | 22k | $562k (exactly $561,525) | Megagon Industries | |
 | PBA Pro Bowling 2026 | $39.99 | 412 91% | 12k | $494k (exactly $494,276) | FarSight Studios | |
 | KALPA: Cosmic Symphony | $19.99 | 640 84% | 19k | $384k (exactly $383,808) | QueseraGames | |
 | BEYBLADE X XONE | $49.99 | 162 79% | 4.9k | $243k (exactly $242,951) | 株式会社グルーブボックスジャパン | |
 | Pure Badminton | $19.99 | 323 81% | 9.7k | $194k (exactly $193,703) | DS SOFT |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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