Games › Mechanics › Basketball
Should I ship a Basketball game?
Basketball
Of 74 developers who shipped a Basketball 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.. 76 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×0.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $300. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 76 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,197) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,126) |
| Top 5% | $165k (exactly $164,803) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 74 |
| Released games | 235 |
| Announced | 76 |
| 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 down 10% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Basketball
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Basketball
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 66% positive over 29,906 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 40 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 76 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.
All pairs with Basketball
- PvP + Basketball Fair $2.6k
- Basketball + Simulation Fair $1.3k
- Basketball + Physics Long shot $537
- Basketball + Character Customization Poor odds $6.0k
- Basketball + Local Multiplayer Poor odds $3.9k
- Basketball + Management Poor odds $3.6k
- Basketball + Strategy Poor odds $1.3k
- Basketball + Sports Poor odds $1.3k
- Basketball + Action Poor odds $1.2k
- Basketball + Arcade Poor odds $719
- Basketball + Adventure Dead $5.7k
- Immersive Sim + Basketball Dead $3.6k
- Basketball + Platformer Dead $899
Comparable games
NBA 2K25 2024 · $65M 
NBA 2K26 2025 · $54M 
FlatOut 2 2006 · $5.8M 
NBA 2K27 2026 · $3.6M 
Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash 2024 · $1.9M | 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 | |
| | FlatOut 2 | older | $9.99 | 19,466 95% | 584k | $5.8M (exactly $5,833,960) | Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Me… (Bugbear Entertainment, ZOOM Platform Media, Jordan Freeman Group) |
| | NBA 2K27 | $69.99 | 1,698 53% | 51k | $3.6M (exactly $3,565,291) | Visual Concepts | |
| | Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Party Dash | older | $44.99 | 1,429 75% | 43k | $1.9M (exactly $1,928,721) | Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works |
 | NBA THE RUN | $29.99 | 900 68% | 27k | $810k (exactly $809,730) | Play by Play Studios | |
 | All-In-One Sports VR | older | $19.99 | 700 84% | 21k | $420k (exactly $419,790) | Appnori Inc. |
 | New Retro Arcade: Neon | older | $19.99 | 579 78% | 17k | $347k (exactly $347,226) | Digital Cybercherries |
 | Hoop Land | · EA | $14.99 | 702 96% | 21k | $316k (exactly $315,689) | Koality Game |
 | Double Dragon Revive | $34.99 | 157 63% | 4.7k | $165k (exactly $164,803) | YUKE’S | |
 | Pro Basketball Manager 2025 | $24.99 | 169 68% | 5.1k | $127k (exactly $126,699) | Umix Studios | |
 | Pro Basketball Manager 2026 | $29.99 | 121 69% | 3.6k | $109k (exactly $108,864) | Umix Studios | |
 | Clutchtime™: Basketball Deckbuilder | $19.99 | 180 77% | 5.4k | $108k (exactly $107,946) | Bigosaur | |
 | Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports | $49.99 | 34 79% | 1.0k | $51k (exactly $50,990) | Bamtang Games | |
 | KUNKUN Defender 2 | $4.99 | 294 94% | 8.8k | $44k (exactly $44,012) | Seal |
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.