Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Level Editor

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor game?

Level Editor

Of 547 developers who shipped a Level Editor 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.. 942 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×359 the market median. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 942 games are announced against 331 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 65% on the market, 942 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 547
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $3.0k → $1.5k → $1.8k → $899 → $1.2k → $896 (still earning) → $598 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 547
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,595)
Top 5% $225k (exactly $225,487)
Developers, 2 yr 547
Released games 1,906
Announced 942
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 65% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Level Editor
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
Level Editor
Price point
$7.99 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 $7.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 152,631 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $900, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 264 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 942 games are announced against 331 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Level Editor

109 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Level Editor + Multiple Endings Fair $8.1k 17 devs
  2. Level Editor + Hidden Object Fair $7.6k 12 devs
  3. Level Editor + Collectathon Fair $3.4k 15 devs
  4. Level Editor + Time Attack Fair $748 12 devs
  5. Level Editor + Idler Fair $719 19 devs
  6. Level Editor + Score Attack Fair $598 51 devs
  7. Automation + Level Editor Long shot $300 27 devs
  8. Level Editor + Transportation Poor odds $43k 10 devs
  9. City Builder + Level Editor Poor odds $24k 20 devs
  10. Online Co-Op + Level Editor Poor odds $19k 36 devs
  11. Open World + Level Editor Poor odds $18k 28 devs
  12. Level Editor + Local Co-Op Poor odds $11k 18 devs
  13. Economy + Level Editor Poor odds $10k 20 devs
  14. Automobile Sim + Level Editor Poor odds $10k 17 devs
  15. Level Editor + Inventory Management Poor odds $10k 12 devs
  16. Driving + Level Editor Poor odds $9.8k 29 devs
  17. FPS + Level Editor Poor odds $9.6k 24 devs
  18. Immersive Sim + Level Editor Poor odds $7.8k 30 devs
  19. Class-Based + Level Editor Poor odds $7.2k 8 devs
  20. RTS + Level Editor Poor odds $6.9k 24 devs
  21. Third-Person Shooter + Level Editor Poor odds $6.9k 10 devs
  22. Sports + Level Editor Poor odds $6.0k 29 devs
  23. Level Editor + Music-Based Procedural Generation Poor odds $5.7k 10 devs
  24. Level Editor + Life Sim Poor odds $4.1k 13 devs
  25. Level Editor + Procedural Generation Poor odds $4.0k 44 devs
  26. Level Editor + Split Screen Poor odds $4.0k 15 devs
  27. Base Building + Level Editor Poor odds $3.8k 36 devs
  28. Level Editor + Exploration Poor odds $3.5k 63 devs
  29. Co-op + Level Editor Poor odds $3.4k 46 devs
  30. Level Editor + Wargame Poor odds $3.4k 27 devs
  31. Level Editor + Simulation Poor odds $3.2k 164 devs
  32. Level Editor + Resource Management Poor odds $3.1k 38 devs
  33. Level Editor + Roguelite Poor odds $3.1k 22 devs
  34. Survival + Level Editor Poor odds $3.1k 21 devs
  35. Sandbox + Level Editor Poor odds $3.0k 128 devs
  36. Racing + Level Editor Poor odds $2.9k 54 devs
  37. Building + Level Editor Poor odds $2.7k 97 devs
  38. Tactical + Level Editor Poor odds $2.4k 54 devs
  39. Level Editor + Turn-Based Combat Poor odds $2.4k 20 devs
  40. Level Editor + Local Multiplayer Poor odds $2.4k 37 devs
  41. Level Editor + 4 Player Local Poor odds $2.4k 17 devs
  42. Bullet Time + Level Editor Poor odds $2.4k 7 devs
  43. RPG + Level Editor Poor odds $2.3k 45 devs
  44. Level Editor + Management Poor odds $2.3k 38 devs
  45. Destruction + Level Editor Poor odds $2.3k 19 devs
  46. Level Editor + Turn-Based Tactics Poor odds $1.9k 39 devs
  47. PvP + Level Editor Poor odds $1.8k 75 devs
  48. Combat + Level Editor Poor odds $1.8k 54 devs
  49. Level Editor + Turn-Based Strategy Poor odds $1.8k 40 devs
  50. God Game + Level Editor Poor odds $1.6k 11 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Portal 2 2011 · $117M American Truck Simulator 2016 · $99M Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M Timberborn 2026 · $40M Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition 2020 · $39M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Portal 2 older $9.99 390,412 98% 12M $117M (exactly $117,006,476) Valve
American Truck Simulator older $19.99 165,692 97% 5.0M $99M (exactly $99,365,492) SCS Software
Geometry Dash older $4.99 595,606 93% 18M $89M (exactly $89,162,218) RobTop Games
Timberborn $34.99 38,529 95% 1.2M $40M (exactly $40,443,891) Mechanistry
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition older $34.99 37,093 84% 1.1M $39M (exactly $38,936,522) World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten… (World's Edge, Tantalus Media, Forgotten Empires)
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront older $34.99 32,183 85% 965k $34M (exactly $33,782,495) Barbedwire Studios, Digitalmindsoft
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number older $14.99 69,423 94% 2.1M $31M (exactly $31,219,523) Dennaton Games
BattleBlock Theater® older $14.99 55,793 97% 1.7M $25M (exactly $25,090,112) The Behemoth
Besiege older $14.99 48,045 95% 1.4M $22M (exactly $21,605,836) Spiderling Studios
Command & Conquer™ Remastered Collection older $19.99 31,503 90% 945k $19M (exactly $18,892,349) Petroglyph, Lemon Sky Studios
Blue Prince $29.99 17,498 85% 525k $16M (exactly $15,742,951) Dogubomb
Rhythm Doctor $19.99 25,021 98% 751k $15M (exactly $15,005,094) 7th Beat Games
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Definitive Edition $29.99 12,286 85% 369k $11M (exactly $11,053,714) Relic Entertainment
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
The Bus $39.99 7,831 73% 235k $9.4M (exactly $9,394,851) TML-Studios
Door Kickers 2: Task Force North $24.99 12,324 96% 370k $9.2M (exactly $9,239,303) KillHouse Games
Age of History 3 $9.99 18,102 85% 543k $5.4M (exactly $5,425,169) Łukasz Jakowski
Rift of the NecroDancer $19.99 5,844 93% 175k $3.5M (exactly $3,504,647) Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios I… (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios Inc.)
Escape Simulator 2 $19.99 4,292 92% 129k $2.6M (exactly $2,573,912) Pine Studio

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