Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer Life Sim?

Life Sim + 2D Platformer

Of 72 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Life Sim 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.. 107 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $480, level with the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $44k, ×94 the market median. Revenue is up 215% on the market; 107 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 215% on the market, 107 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 72
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $16k → $1.8k → $20k → $6.7k → $359 → $479 → $1.8k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 72
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,994)
Top 5% $44k (exactly $44,461)
Developers, 2 yr 72
Released games 189
Announced 107
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 215% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Life Sim, 2D Platformer; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, RPG, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 3,251 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $480, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $44k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 107 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Life Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds38 devs · median $54k · 21 announced
  2. + MinigamesStrong odds20 devs · median $11k · 19 announced
  3. + MusicStrong odds28 devs · median $9.2k · 20 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair144 devs · median $19k · 153 announced
  5. + Football (Soccer)Fair10 devs · median $10k · 16 announced
  6. + FaithFair11 devs · median $9.4k · 13 announced
  7. + Artificial IntelligenceFair92 devs · median $7.3k · 121 announced
  8. + GamblingFair28 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + DemonsFair16 devs · median $2.4k · 22 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair162 devs · median $2.4k · 219 announced
  11. + LogicFair70 devs · median $1.5k · 74 announced
  12. + ZombiesFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 34 announced

All 173 pairs on the Life Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chinese Online Game older $9.99 6,610 82% 198k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,017) 648工作室
Game Dev Story older $8.99 1,445 89% 43k $390k (exactly $389,716) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Blood Money: Lethal Eden $8.99 1,262 91% 38k $340k (exactly $340,361) 碧火互娱
Doraemon Dorayaki Shop Story $19.99 468 98% 14k $281k (exactly $280,660) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Dungeon Village older $8.99 829 88% 25k $224k (exactly $223,581) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Fishing Adventure older $4.99 1,479 85% 44k $221k (exactly $221,406) MasterCode
Daily life with my succubus boss older $9.99 716 88% 21k $215k (exactly $214,585) 樹懶叫工作室, HEIJUN, Maker製造機
Dream Town Island older $12.99 490 95% 15k $191k (exactly $190,953) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Magical Delicacy older $24.99 240 77% 7.2k $180k (exactly $179,928) Skaule
Dungeon Village 2 older $8.99 662 86% 20k $179k (exactly $178,541) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
我的时光:大学日记 $13.99 340 25% 10k $143k (exactly $142,698) WaterWood Studio
Song's Fantasy $7.99 229 55% 6.9k $55k (exactly $54,891) 南十字座工作室
Immortal Farmer: System’s Mandate · EA $4.99 297 68% 8.9k $44k (exactly $44,461) oyogame
UncleOffice:uncle Dating Simulator $15.99 92 61% 2.8k $44k (exactly $44,132) GameUncle
Pro Wrestler Story $8.99 109 49% 3.3k $29k (exactly $29,397) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
ENCOUNTER BARⅡ $2.99 294 69% 8.8k $26k (exactly $26,372) 2R LTD
Skating Rink Story $12.99 66 89% 2.0k $26k (exactly $25,720) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
魔哆魔哆 Modo Modo $7.99 94 95% 2.8k $23k (exactly $22,532) HAJI HEAVY INDUSTIRES

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