Should I ship a Racing RTS?
RTS + Racing
Only 11 developers shipped a Racing RTS 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, Open Wheel Manager 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 6 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $330 against a market of $1.5k. 6 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $330 (exactly $330) |
| Top 25% | $5.3k (exactly $5,277) |
| Top 5% | $31k (exactly $31,169) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 47 |
| Announced | 6 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 up 1185% on the market, supply 50% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- RTS, Racing
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 8 games average 64% positive over 183 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 6 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
RTS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + HorrorFair
- + NavalFair
- + TabletopFair
- + SportsLong shot
- + PuzzleLong shot
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Open WorldPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
Tennis Manager 2023 2023 · $47k 
Open Wheel Manager 2 2024 · $31k 
Shiny Ski Resort 2022 · $28k 
Car Factory Empire 2025 · EA · $13k 
Just Move:Clean City Messy Battle 2025 · $5.3k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Tennis Manager 2023 | older | $9.99 | 158 81% | 4.7k | $47k (exactly $47,353) | Rebound |
| | Open Wheel Manager 2 | $9.99 | 104 72% | 3.1k | $31k (exactly $31,169) | Paprikash Games | |
| | Shiny Ski Resort | older | $8.99 | 102 92% | 3.1k | $28k (exactly $27,509) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
| | Car Factory Empire | · EA | $8.99 | 48 56% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $12,946) | RDS Games |
| | Just Move:Clean City Messy Battle | $15.99 | 11 45% | 330 | $5.3k (exactly $5,277) | daminggede | |
 | Diamonds Collector | older | $9.99 | 14 78% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Gamesforgames |
 | Just Move Fall Dungeon Endless Abyss | $15.99 | 8 50% | 240 | $3.8k (exactly $3,838) | daminggede | |
 | Helicopter Simulator 2020 | older | $9.99 | 8 0% | 240 | $2.4k (exactly $2,398) | Technologies&Simulators |
 | EA Play | older | $5.99 | 12 50% | 360 | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) | Electronic Arts |
 | Evaluate | $54.99 | 1 0% | 30 | $1.7k (exactly $1,650) | Evaluate | |
 | 一剑江湖 | $1.99 | 9 44% | 270 | $537 (exactly $537) | 春秋大梦工作室 | |
 | Ultimate Racing Simulator 1 | · EA | $10.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $330 (exactly $330) | Michael Works |
 | 星界远航 Stellar Realm Voyage | · EA | $8.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $270 (exactly $270) | SGAIZFTX |
 | Muatythai fighters for freedom | · EA | $4.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Omnipath Co.,Ltd. |
 | motorcycle combat | $2.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | QplusQ |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.