Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Life Sim?

Life Sim + Aliens

Only 14 developers shipped an Alien Life Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Galaxy Princess Zorana, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 35 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.1k, ×13 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×243 the market median. Revenue is up 1735% on the market; 35 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 1735% on the market, 35 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $37k → $7.8k → $150 → $84k → $48k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $6.1k (exactly $6,138)
Top 25% $48k (exactly $48,323)
Top 5% $115k (exactly $115,454)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 30
Announced 35
Effort 4 / 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 1735% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Aliens
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 1,134 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $6.1k, 1 in 4 over $48k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Life Sim with a different setting or mood, 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
The Sapling · EA older $17.99 1,922 89% 58k $1.0M (exactly $1,037,303) Wessel Stoop
Startopia older $6.99 844 91% 25k $177k (exactly $176,987) My Little Planet Ltd, Mucky Foot Produc… (My Little Planet Ltd, Mucky Foot Productions Ltd)
Last Hope older $19.99 260 93% 7.8k $156k (exactly $155,922) Poolside games
Galaxy Princess Zorana $24.99 154 88% 4.6k $115k (exactly $115,454) Hanako Games
Shinehill $10.99 265 95% 8.0k $87k (exactly $87,370) Peach Bite
Pawn Planet $9.99 280 71% 8.4k $84k (exactly $83,916) Gambol Games
Alien Market Simulator $12.99 124 83% 3.7k $48k (exactly $48,323) Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainme… (Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainment)
Space Chef $14.99 105 73% 3.2k $47k (exactly $47,218) Blue Goo Games
Camp Canyonwood older $19.99 62 58% 1.9k $37k (exactly $37,181) Deli Interactive LLC
Parasite Infection older $7.99 140 77% 4.2k $34k (exactly $33,558) Light Dark Deviant
Invasion of The Halloween Fiends $3.49 107 94% 3.2k $11k (exactly $11,203) MyGrandfather Games
Cam Star! $4.99 41 68% 1.2k $6.1k (exactly $6,138) PINKU!
GLOOPALAXY $4.99 31 96% 930 $4.6k (exactly $4,641) Felis Major
High School Rizz Party $6.99 22 81% 660 $4.6k (exactly $4,613) MirKO
Be Human...Or Die Trying $5.99 5 100% 150 $898 (exactly $898) Real Tough Chickens

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