Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Life Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Life Sim Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Life Sim

Of 107 developers who shipped a Life Sim Action-Adventure 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.. 227 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×269 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 227 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 227 announced, ×4.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Life Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 107
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $9.6k → $6.6k → $1.3k → $3.5k → $5.4k → $3.9k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Life Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 107
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,438)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,827)
Top 5% $169k (exactly $168,638)
Developers, 2 yr 107
Released games 279
Announced 227
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 30% on the market, supply as many developers as 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.

Action-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Action-Adventure, Life Sim; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Simulation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 16,148 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 73 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 227 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action-Adventure with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair18 devs · median $6.7k · 19 announced
  3. + BikesFair11 devs · median $2.5k · 11 announced
  4. + TransportationFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  5. + MotorbikeFair9 devs · median $2.3k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingLong shot14 devs · median $360 · 16 announced
  7. + Time AttackLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 17 announced
  8. + Character Action GamePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  9. + MMORPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 116 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds49 devs · median $25k · 133 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds81 devs · median $24k · 135 announced
  12. + Villain ProtagonistPoor odds12 devs · median $17k · 26 announced

All 242 pairs on the Action-Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Saints Row®: The Third™ Remastered older $29.99 3,968 73% 119k $3.6M (exactly $3,570,010) Deep Silver Volition, Sperasoft
Crime Simulator $14.99 6,244 82% 187k $2.8M (exactly $2,807,927) CookieDev
Potion Permit older $19.99 4,358 78% 131k $2.6M (exactly $2,613,493) MassHive Media
Moonstone Island older $19.99 4,063 84% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,436,581) Studio Supersoft
Weed Shop 3 older $19.99 3,956 93% 119k $2.4M (exactly $2,372,413) Weed Games
Chinese Online Game older $9.99 6,610 82% 198k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,017) 648工作室
Wild West Legacy older $26.99 1,706 39% 51k $1.4M (exactly $1,381,348) Moon Punch Studio
Ogu and the Secret Forest older $24.99 1,817 94% 55k $1.4M (exactly $1,362,205) Moonlab Studio, Sinkhole Studio
WolfQuest: Classic $29.99 1,401 90% 42k $1.3M (exactly $1,260,480) eduweb
Bootstrap Island $24.99 1,362 81% 41k $1.0M (exactly $1,021,091) Maru VR
I Am Jesus Christ $19.99 1,486 87% 45k $891k (exactly $891,154) Space Boat Studios
Prison Escape Simulator: Dig Out $7.99 3,490 85% 105k $837k (exactly $836,553) Digital Melody
Lynked: Banner of the Spark $14.99 375 77% 11k $169k (exactly $168,638) FuzzyBot
Captain Bones : A Pirate's Journey $14.99 348 79% 10k $156k (exactly $156,496) World of Poly
Superhero Simulator · EA $5.99 867 73% 26k $156k (exactly $155,800) mightyraccoon! Studios
Bum: Revenge · EA $9.99 367 62% 11k $110k (exactly $109,990) Patologgia Interactive
Magic Pussy: Chapter 3 $14.99 208 77% 6.2k $94k (exactly $93,538) Dirty Adventures 🖤

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