Games › Racing › Racing + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Racing game?
Racing + Sci-fi
Of 99 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 192 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
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 $150; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×287 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 192 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $3.1k (exactly $3,144) |
| Top 5% | $180k (exactly $180,260) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 99 |
| Released games | 375 |
| Announced | 192 |
| 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 60% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Racing; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Driving
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 3,269 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. Nearly all of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 192 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Racing with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + CapitalismStrong odds
- + ModernFair
- + TransportationFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Time ManipulationFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + City BuilderLong shot
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
Comparable games
RAGE 2 2019 · $17M 
Sonic Adventure 2 2012 · $7.1M 
Distance 2018 · $4.4M 
RAGE 2011 · $3.7M 
GRIP: Combat Racing 2018 · $3.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | RAGE 2 | older | $39.99 | 14,019 64% | 421k | $17M (exactly $16,818,594) | id Software, Avalanche Studios |
| | Sonic Adventure 2 | older | $9.99 | 23,755 90% | 713k | $7.1M (exactly $7,119,374) | SEGA |
| | Distance | older | $24.99 | 5,832 93% | 175k | $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) | Refract |
| | RAGE | older | $9.99 | 12,230 76% | 367k | $3.7M (exactly $3,665,331) | id Software |
| | GRIP: Combat Racing | older | $29.99 | 3,669 86% | 110k | $3.3M (exactly $3,300,999) | Caged Element |
 | Redout: Enhanced Edition | older | $19.99 | 3,438 84% | 103k | $2.1M (exactly $2,061,769) | 34BigThings srl |
 | BallisticNG | older | $14.99 | 2,285 95% | 69k | $1.0M (exactly $1,027,564) | Neognosis |
 | Disney Infinity 3.0: Gold Edition | older | $29.99 | 1,074 88% | 32k | $966k (exactly $966,278) | Avalanche Software, Heavy Iron Studios |
 | Pacer | older | $39.99 | 576 72% | 17k | $691k (exactly $691,027) | R8 Games Ltd |
 | STAR WARS™ Episode I Racer | older | $9.99 | 2,153 86% | 65k | $645k (exactly $645,254) | LucasArts |
 | Warhammer 40,000: Speed Freeks | $19.99 | 493 85% | 15k | $296k (exactly $295,652) | Caged Element | |
 | Synthwave Burnout | $12.99 | 751 74% | 23k | $293k (exactly $292,665) | Whale Rock Games | |
 | Exo Rally Championship | $24.99 | 374 90% | 11k | $280k (exactly $280,388) | Exbleative | |
 | VRacer Hoverbike | $29.99 | 307 89% | 9.2k | $276k (exactly $276,208) | VertexBreakers | |
 | BREAK ARTS III | $17.99 | 334 80% | 10k | $180k (exactly $180,260) | MercuryStudio | |
 | XF Extreme Formula | $11.99 | 366 90% | 11k | $132k (exactly $131,650) | Feperd Games | |
 | TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials | $39.99 | 93 78% | 2.8k | $112k (exactly $111,572) | 3DClouds | |
 | Retrowave 2 | $4.99 | 449 88% | 13k | $67k (exactly $67,215) | RewindApp | |
 | Star Racer | $9.99 | 59 93% | 1.8k | $18k (exactly $17,682) | Whatnot Games | |
 | Moto Rush Reborn | $12.99 | 43 97% | 1.3k | $17k (exactly $16,757) | Baltoro Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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