Games › Sports › Sports + Trading
Should I ship a Trading Sports game?
Sports + Trading
Only 11 developers shipped a Trading Sports 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, NBA 2K26, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 14 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $34k, ×54 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $53M, ×85763 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 14 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) |
|---|---|
| Median | $34k (exactly $33,812) |
| Top 25% | $127k (exactly $126,699) |
| Top 5% | $54M (exactly $53,859,405) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 11 |
| Released games | 30 |
| Announced | 14 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sports, Trading; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $12.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.
The top 10 games average 67% positive over 27,693 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.1k. 5 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 14 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Sports with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds
- + CraftingFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + SandboxFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + FMVFair
- + BikesFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Choices MatterFair
Comparable games
NBA 2K25 2024 · $65M 
NBA 2K26 2025 · $54M 
Out of the Park Baseball 26 2025 · $1.2M 
Gym Simulator 24 2024 · $986k 
Out of the Park Baseball 27 2026 · $712k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | NBA 2K25 | older | $69.99 | 30,969 60% | 929k | $65M (exactly $65,025,609) | Visual Concepts |
| | NBA 2K26 | $69.99 | 25,651 66% | 770k | $54M (exactly $53,859,405) | Visual Concepts | |
| | Out of the Park Baseball 26 | $49.99 | 819 82% | 25k | $1.2M (exactly $1,228,254) | Out of the Park Developments | |
| | Gym Simulator 24 | older | $12.99 | 2,531 84% | 76k | $986k (exactly $986,331) | Red Axe Games |
| | Out of the Park Baseball 27 | $49.99 | 475 82% | 14k | $712k (exactly $712,358) | Out of the Park Developments | |
 | GOAL! The Club Manager | · EA older | $29.99 | 364 33% | 11k | $327k (exactly $327,491) | 2tainment |
 | Franchise Hockey Manager 7 | older | $19.99 | 241 77% | 7.2k | $145k (exactly $144,528) | Out of the Park Developments, Minos Gam… (Out of the Park Developments, Minos Games) |
 | Soccer Online: Ball 3D | older | $0.99 | 4,624 89% | 139k | $137k (exactly $137,333) | Unusualsoft |
 | Pro Basketball Manager 2025 | $24.99 | 169 68% | 5.1k | $127k (exactly $126,699) | Umix Studios | |
 | CFS (Chinese Football Simulator) | $9.99 | 290 67% | 8.7k | $87k (exactly $86,913) | 悟空实验室 | |
 | Sports Card Shop Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 155 92% | 4.7k | $60k (exactly $60,404) | OverPowered Team |
 | Sporting Goods Shop | $11.99 | 94 97% | 2.8k | $34k (exactly $33,812) | Business Tycoon | |
 | Hakoniwa Base Ball | $9.99 | 25 100% | 750 | $7.5k (exactly $7,492) | Alybe Aria | |
 | Gym Empire - Idle Gym Tycoon Management | $4.99 | 14 71% | 420 | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) | Chronik Spartan | |
 | Water Polo Manager 2026 | · EA | $14.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $450 (exactly $450) | BOSSMADE Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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