Do I ship it?

Games › Simulation › Simulation + Time Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Attack Simulation game?

Simulation + Time Attack

Of 21 developers who shipped a Time Attack Simulation 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.. 13 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $770k, ×1231 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 13 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 13 announced, ×1.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Simulation + Time Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.1k → $1.9k → $269 → $12k → $1.8k → $7.0k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Simulation + Time Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,438)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $16,059)
Top 5% $773k (exactly $773,165)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 80
Announced 13
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 70% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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.

Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Time 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Simulation, Time Attack; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Driving, Physics, Racing
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Difficult
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 87% positive over 11,627 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $770k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 13 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds150 devs · median $55k · 81 announced
  2. + Escape RoomStrong odds36 devs · median $3.6k · 26 announced
  3. + World War IFair23 devs · median $32k · 32 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair285 devs · median $12k · 362 announced
  5. + LGBTQ+Fair272 devs · median $9.7k · 303 announced
  6. + PinballFair27 devs · median $8.2k · 28 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair672 devs · median $5.1k · 754 announced
  8. + BirdsFair19 devs · median $3.8k · 16 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair387 devs · median $3.0k · 490 announced
  10. + MusicFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 92 announced
  11. + Auto BattlerFair219 devs · median $2.5k · 293 announced
  12. + ProgrammingFair132 devs · median $2.2k · 174 announced

All 287 pairs on the Simulation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Assetto Corsa Rally 2025 · EA · $7.9M Motor Town: Behind The Wheel 2021 · EA · $5.4M Trackmania United Forever 2008 · $2.2M TrackMania² Stadium 2013 · $1.6M Slackers - Carts of Glory 2024 · $773k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Assetto Corsa Rally · EA $29.99 8,757 87% 263k $7.9M (exactly $7,878,673) Supernova Games Studios
Motor Town: Behind The Wheel · EA older $19.99 8,971 93% 269k $5.4M (exactly $5,379,909) P3 Games
Trackmania United Forever older $29.99 2,488 94% 75k $2.2M (exactly $2,238,454) Nadeo
TrackMania² Stadium older $9.99 5,340 88% 160k $1.6M (exactly $1,600,398) Nadeo
Slackers - Carts of Glory $12.99 1,984 91% 60k $773k (exactly $773,165) Falling Saints
Barro older $4.99 3,253 85% 98k $487k (exactly $486,974) SC Jogos
Barro F older $4.99 2,329 84% 70k $349k (exactly $348,651) SC Jogos
Stilt Fella older $12.99 794 92% 24k $309k (exactly $309,422) September Games
Barro 2020 older $4.99 1,932 84% 58k $289k (exactly $289,220) SC Jogos
Barro Racing older $4.99 1,250 83% 38k $187k (exactly $187,125) SC Jogos
DEADLINE DELIVERY $14.99 319 85% 9.6k $143k (exactly $143,454) GOOD1 Studios
Reverse Problem $12.99 52 86% 1.6k $20k (exactly $20,264) Tag Axle Games
Barro F25 $4.99 117 86% 3.5k $18k (exactly $17,515) SC Jogos
Ells Tales: Chairbound $1.99 269 81% 8.1k $16k (exactly $16,059) Ells&Pills
Mini City: Mayhem $5.99 64 81% 1.9k $12k (exactly $11,501) Rogue Duck Interactive, cukuto
Barro 2026 $4.99 47 70% 1.4k $7.0k (exactly $7,036) Grishko Games
Emergency Exit $9.99 12 83% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Cheeky Cat Games
Animal Run Relay $9.99 6 100% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) youdoyou.motto

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