Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Flight

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Flight game?

Flight

Of 534 developers who shipped a Flight 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.. 867 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×266 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 867 games are announced against 301 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 867 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Flight
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 534
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $716 → $897 → $1.3k → $360 → $539 → $416 → $449 (still earning) → $420 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Flight: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 534
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,496)
Top 5% $167k (exactly $167,316)
Developers, 2 yr 534
Released games 2,219
Announced 867
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 55% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Flight
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
Flight
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 129,382 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 $450, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 286 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 867 games are announced against 301 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Flight

101 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Flight + Roguelite Poor odds $449 34 devs
  2. Flight + Physics Poor odds $418 151 devs
  3. Flight + Strategy Poor odds $390 70 devs
  4. Flight + Real Time Tactics Poor odds $390 17 devs
  5. Flight + Procedural Generation Poor odds $360 39 devs
  6. Third-Person Shooter + Flight Poor odds $359 48 devs
  7. Action RPG + Flight Poor odds $359 21 devs
  8. Flight + Local Multiplayer Poor odds $239 20 devs
  9. Grand Strategy + Flight Dead $37k 2 devs
  10. City Builder + Flight Dead $9.7k 8 devs
  11. Colony Sim + Flight Dead $9.7k 6 devs
  12. Flight + Split Screen Dead $4.0k 3 devs
  13. Spectacle fighter + Flight Dead $629 3 devs
  14. Flight + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $479 19 devs
  15. Flight + Shooter Dead $449 172 devs
  16. Flight + PvE Dead $449 86 devs
  17. Flight + Tanks Dead $449 9 devs
  18. Flight + Naval Combat Dead $449 8 devs
  19. Hero Shooter + Flight Dead $449 6 devs
  20. Flight + Action Dead $359 330 devs
  21. Flight + Combat Dead $359 156 devs
  22. Flight + Space Sim Dead $359 90 devs
  23. Flight + Bullet Hell Dead $359 83 devs
  24. Flight + 3D Platformer Dead $359 59 devs
  25. Flight + Collectathon Dead $359 21 devs
  26. Flight + Asynchronous Multiplayer Dead $359 11 devs
  27. Flight + Tower Defense Dead $359 10 devs
  28. Flight + Stealth Dead $359 7 devs
  29. Flight + Arcade Dead $300 247 devs
  30. Flight + Shoot 'Em Up Dead $300 86 devs
  31. Arena Shooter + Flight Dead $300 20 devs
  32. Flight + Racing Dead $299 78 devs
  33. Flight + Score Attack Dead $299 57 devs
  34. Flight + Top-Down Shooter Dead $270 57 devs
  35. Flight + Platformer Dead $239 48 devs
  36. 3D Fighter + Flight Dead $239 26 devs
  37. Flight + Rhythm Dead $239 15 devs
  38. Flight + Gun Customization Dead $239 5 devs
  39. Flight + Puzzle Dead $238 35 devs
  40. Flight + Local Co-Op Dead $238 17 devs
  41. Flight + Point & Click Dead $238 12 devs
  42. Flight + Beat 'em up Dead $179 11 devs
  43. Battle Royale + Flight Dead $179 6 devs
  44. Flight + Precision Platformer Dead $120 29 devs
  45. Flight + Runner Dead $60 34 devs
  46. Flight + 2D Platformer Dead $60 31 devs
  47. Flight + Bullet Time Dead $60 10 devs
  48. Flight + Parkour Dead $30 19 devs
  49. Flight + 2D Fighter Dead $0 9 devs
  50. Flight + Incremental Dead $0 9 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition 2026 · $126M ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN 2019 · $83M The Crew™ 2 2018 · $78M Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 2024 · $45M Stormworks: Build and Rescue 2020 · $41M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition $59.99 70,073 78% 2.1M $126M (exactly $126,110,378) Asobo Studio
ACE COMBAT™ 7: SKIES UNKNOWN older $59.99 46,235 87% 1.4M $83M (exactly $83,209,130) Bandai Namco Studios Inc.
The Crew™ 2 older $29.99 86,533 78% 2.6M $78M (exactly $77,853,740) Ivory Tower
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 $69.99 21,633 59% 649k $45M (exactly $45,422,810) Asobo Studio
Stormworks: Build and Rescue older $24.99 54,649 90% 1.6M $41M (exactly $40,970,355) Geometa
X4: Foundations older $49.99 25,257 79% 758k $38M (exactly $37,877,923) Egosoft
Brick Rigs older $19.99 53,749 95% 1.6M $32M (exactly $32,233,275) Fluppisoft GmbH
Transport Fever 2 older $39.99 26,714 89% 801k $32M (exactly $32,048,786) Urban Games
STAR WARS™: Squadrons older $39.99 25,086 66% 753k $30M (exactly $30,095,674) MOTIVE
Trailmakers older $24.99 33,465 92% 1.0M $25M (exactly $25,088,710) Flashbulb
Jump Space · EA $19.99 10,724 85% 322k $6.4M (exactly $6,431,183) Keepsake Games
SpaceBourne 2 $19.99 4,951 75% 149k $3.0M (exactly $2,969,115) Burak Dabak
Aviassembly · EA $9.99 9,323 96% 280k $2.8M (exactly $2,794,103) Jelle Booij
Cleared Hot · EA $17.99 3,934 96% 118k $2.1M (exactly $2,123,180) Not Knowing Corporation
Ostranauts $19.99 3,137 77% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,259) Blue Bottle Games
Lost Skies $24.99 2,470 63% 74k $1.9M (exactly $1,851,759) Bossa Studios
Starminer · EA $29.99 1,818 72% 55k $1.6M (exactly $1,635,655) CoolAndGoodGames
Reentry - A Space Flight Simulator $34.99 1,319 97% 40k $1.4M (exactly $1,384,554) Lyra Creative

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