Do I ship it?

GamesTransportationTransportation + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Transportation game?

Transportation + Space

Only 14 developers shipped a Space Transportation game 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, TAXINAUT, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $23k, ×37 the market median. Revenue is up 790% on the market; 30 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 790% on the market, 30 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Transportation + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $300 → $12k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Transportation + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,799)
Top 25% $5.3k (exactly $5,273)
Top 5% $23k (exactly $23,388)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 36
Announced 30
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 790% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Transportation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Space
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Transportation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Open World, Simulation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 188 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $5.2k, 1 in 20 over $23k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Transportation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Character CustomizationFair19 devs · median $7.2k · 24 announced
  2. + PvPFair10 devs · median $5.7k · 11 announced
  3. + 3D PlatformerFair13 devs · median $3.1k · 12 announced
  4. + RacingFair39 devs · median $2.3k · 35 announced
  5. + Action-AdventureFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  6. + LogicFair29 devs · median $1.7k · 30 announced
  7. + ArcadeFair37 devs · median $839 · 32 announced
  8. + IdlerFair15 devs · median $747 · 20 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds14 devs · median $369k · 25 announced
  11. + Level EditorPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  12. + Life SimPoor odds24 devs · median $27k · 48 announced

All 53 pairs on the Transportation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Star Trucker older $24.99 4,928 77% 148k $3.7M (exactly $3,694,522) Monster and Monster
InfraSpace older $24.99 1,638 82% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,228,009) Dionic Software
Frontier Pilot Simulator older $24.99 836 69% 25k $627k (exactly $626,749) RAZAR s.r.o.
Flight Of Nova · EA older $29.99 537 93% 16k $483k (exactly $483,139) Aerovery Lab
Homebrew - Patent Unknown · EA older $14.99 828 71% 25k $372k (exactly $372,352) Copybugpaste
Interstellar Transport Company older $24.99 395 65% 12k $296k (exactly $296,132) MT Worlds
Moons of Ardan · EA older $19.99 76 94% 2.3k $46k (exactly $45,577) Pandora Technology
Relic Odyssey : Ruins Of Xantao · EA older $14.99 88 97% 2.6k $40k (exactly $39,574) Honour Bound Game Studios Inc.
TAXINAUT $19.99 39 87% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) mosgrom
Cargo Company older $9.99 68 57% 2.0k $20k (exactly $20,380) Ambiera
MOONROT $5.99 66 86% 2.0k $12k (exactly $11,860) Bee Braun
Void Cargo: Equilibrium $12.99 20 70% 600 $7.8k (exactly $7,794) Hammer&Hammer
F.A.R.M.S.: Chill Factory $7.99 22 72% 660 $5.3k (exactly $5,273) Plema Crafts
Galatico · EA $7.99 13 100% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Galatico Studios
Minuto - Galactic Deliveries $4.99 15 100% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) Yellow Seahorse Games
The Chaser's Voyage $19.99 3 100% 90 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) Bright at Midnight: A Game Studio
Gravity Drop $6.99 4 100% 120 $839 (exactly $839) Octopie Lab
UFO-Man $6.99 3 100% 90 $629 (exactly $629) Dyglone
Throst $5.99 3 33% 90 $539 (exactly $539) ZiG GAMES

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