Do I ship it?

GamesSandboxSandbox + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack Sandbox?

Sandbox + Score Attack

Of 41 developers who shipped a Score Attack Sandbox 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.. 56 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $60. Revenue is up 820% on the market; 56 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 820% on the market, 56 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Sandbox + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 41
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $358 → $3.1k → $210 → $3.8k → $599 (still earning) → $958 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Sandbox + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 41
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $5.2k (exactly $5,211)
Top 5% $47k (exactly $46,738)
Developers, 2 yr 41
Released games 96
Announced 56
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 820% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Sandbox
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Score Attack
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
Sandbox, Score Attack; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Strategy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 1,155 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $5.2k, 1 in 20 over $46k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FightingStrong odds11 devs · median $76k · 8 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair20 devs · median $224k · 19 announced
  3. + World War IIFair14 devs · median $146k · 13 announced
  4. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $17k · 12 announced
  5. + ProgrammingFair60 devs · median $7.0k · 71 announced
  6. + CatsFair63 devs · median $4.8k · 74 announced
  7. + SportsFair83 devs · median $4.2k · 103 announced
  8. + GamblingFair25 devs · median $2.5k · 31 announced
  9. + Auto BattlerFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 42 announced
  10. + Combat RacingFair21 devs · median $1.8k · 26 announced
  11. + Trading Card GameFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  12. + IdlerFair258 devs · median $1.2k · 306 announced

All 233 pairs on the Sandbox page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Maniac older $4.99 1,754 90% 53k $263k (exactly $262,574) Transhuman Design
Death From Above: A Ukrainian Drone Warstory older $9.99 618 89% 19k $185k (exactly $185,215) Rockodile
Copa City: Matchday Manager $24.99 247 72% 7.4k $185k (exactly $185,176) Triple Espresso S.A.
Bartender VR Simulator older $19.99 168 56% 5.0k $101k (exactly $100,750) VR Factory Games Sp. z o.o.
DrumBeats VR $14.99 128 65% 3.8k $58k (exactly $57,562) Marcel Eissens, VRROOM Ultimate VR Expe… (Marcel Eissens, VRROOM Ultimate VR Experiences BV)
AI Learns To Drive $7.49 208 95% 6.2k $47k (exactly $46,738) ActivationFunction
ploink $12.99 91 96% 2.7k $35k (exactly $35,463) Pyrocreep
Sandtrix+ older $7.99 139 92% 4.2k $33k (exactly $33,318) msky
LAPIDARY: Jewel Craft Simulator older $7.99 130 82% 3.9k $31k (exactly $31,161) THINK & FEEL
!AnyWay! older $1.99 507 69% 15k $30k (exactly $30,268) EYEFRONT
Nuclear Design Bureau · EA $9.99 88 79% 2.6k $26k (exactly $26,374) Design Bureau KB-11
Sniper Camouflage Orange Spy Warrior I Buried Two Bodies in the Garden and the Police Haven't Figured Out Yet That They're Missing Because They Were a Lonely Old Couple Who Had No Relatives Simulator 2026 · EA $9.99 77 66% 2.3k $23k (exactly $23,077) The Only Way Out
Reverse Problem $12.99 52 86% 1.6k $20k (exactly $20,264) Tag Axle Games
Colony 37 · EA $2.99 224 95% 6.7k $20k (exactly $20,093) Valen
Assemblands $9.99 27 66% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) Tafusoft
Retronika $14.99 13 84% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) 4Players-Studio

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