Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Alternate History
Should I ship an Alternate-History Life Sim?
Life Sim + Alternate History
Only 18 developers shipped an Alternate-History 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, City 20, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 52 more are announced, ×6.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×188 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 52 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $3.9k (exactly $3,897) |
| Top 5% | $118k (exactly $118,141) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 57 |
| Announced | 52 |
| 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 down 35% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 21%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Alternate History
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Immersive Sim, Simulation, Action
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cute, Third Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 69% positive over 540 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + FaithFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + ZombiesFair
Comparable games
Not Tonight 2018 · $1.3M 
Sword and Fairy Inn 2 2022 · $1.2M 
Not Tonight 2 2022 · $279k 
Komorebi 2023 · $155k 
Wishful Journey:Love Across Time 2024 · $128k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Not Tonight | older | $19.99 | 2,220 84% | 67k | $1.3M (exactly $1,331,334) | PanicBarn |
| | Sword and Fairy Inn 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,013 49% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,207,196) | SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT |
| | Not Tonight 2 | older | $19.99 | 465 76% | 14k | $279k (exactly $278,860) | PanicBarn |
| | Komorebi | older | $19.99 | 258 92% | 7.7k | $155k (exactly $154,723) | Klace |
| | Wishful Journey:Love Across Time | older | $9.99 | 426 88% | 13k | $128k (exactly $127,672) | Hillhouse Holdings Limited |
 | City 20 | · EA | $19.99 | 197 72% | 5.9k | $118k (exactly $118,141) | Untold Games |
 | Artist Life Simulator | older | $19.99 | 173 79% | 5.2k | $104k (exactly $103,748) | Interactive Fate |
 | PRINCIPIA: Master of Science | · EA older | $9.99 | 302 69% | 9.1k | $91k (exactly $90,509) | tomeapp |
 | Citizen of Rome - Dynasty Ascendant | older | $9.99 | 235 80% | 7.1k | $70k (exactly $70,430) | Citizen of Life Games |
 | Lower? Higher! | $9.99 | 146 67% | 4.4k | $44k (exactly $43,756) | Unplugged Studio | |
 | Skufs VS Quadrobers | $1.49 | 139 77% | 4.2k | $6.2k (exactly $6,213) | Dramatic Medium | |
 | Organic Burger Simulator | · EA | $14.99 | 12 58% | 360 | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) | Mehmet Bilici, Hüseyin Doğan |
 | Octopus Goulash | $12.99 | 10 70% | 300 | $3.9k (exactly $3,897) | Alessio Serenellini | |
 | CRYPTOBIOSIS | $9.99 | 6 50% | 180 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | 陈高远狠活工作室 | |
 | Legacy of Ancestors | · EA | $6.99 | 6 33% | 180 | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) | 命运测试 |
 | Midnight Shift | $2.99 | 14 14% | 420 | $1.3k (exactly $1,256) | Midnight Gaming Studio | |
 | Wild West Saloon Simulator | · EA | $7.99 | 5 20% | 150 | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) | Walty Games |
 | 我穿越回末世5天前 | · EA | $2.99 | 5 40% | 150 | $449 (exactly $449) | 浔曜 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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