Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Artificial Intelligence

Of 133 developers who shipped an AI Immersive 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.. 208 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.5k, ×4.3 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $590k, ×397 the market median. Revenue is up 245% on the market; 208 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 245% on the market, 208 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 133
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.0k → $13k → $8.5k → $7.2k → $2.4k → $19k → $9.0k (still earning) → $5.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 133
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,254)
Median $6.5k (exactly $6,473)
Top 25% $65k (exactly $65,335)
Top 5% $595k (exactly $594,702)
Developers, 2 yr 133
Released games 296
Announced 208
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 245% on the market, supply 105% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Immersive Sim
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Choices Matter
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 52,137 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.3k, median $6.5k, 1 in 4 over $65k, 1 in 20 over $590k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.3k. 8 in 10 of the 56 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 208 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! 2026 · $4.4M Road to Empress Ⅱ 2026 · $4.2M Fast Food Simulator 2024 · EA · $3.9M KinitoPET 2024 · $2.4M Inari 2024 · $1.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! $5.99 24,497 94% 735k $4.4M (exactly $4,402,111) ArtRising
Road to Empress Ⅱ $18.00 7,773 80% 233k $4.2M (exactly $4,197,420) New One Studio
Fast Food Simulator · EA $14.99 8,653 86% 260k $3.9M (exactly $3,891,254) No Ceiling Games
KinitoPET older $5.99 13,438 92% 403k $2.4M (exactly $2,414,809) troy_en
Inari older $14.99 2,387 94% 72k $1.1M (exactly $1,073,434) Seikou Soft.
Warbox · EA older $9.99 3,430 55% 103k $1.0M (exactly $1,027,971) Mantaliss
S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH $13.99 2,324 90% 70k $975k (exactly $975,383) U0U Games
GERONIMO · EA $19.99 1,267 81% 38k $760k (exactly $759,820) Dark Matter Studios
Evil Nun: The Broken Mask older $19.99 1,084 95% 33k $650k (exactly $650,075) Keplerians, Carlos Coronado
City Transport Simulator 2026 - Bus & Tram $39.99 526 73% 16k $631k (exactly $631,042) ViewApp
AV Director Life! $29.99 661 85% 20k $595k (exactly $594,702) TeamKRAMA
Whispers from the Star $9.99 1,662 80% 50k $498k (exactly $498,101) Anuttacon
Supermarket Chaos $4.99 3,266 92% 98k $489k (exactly $488,920) BunnyHop
恋爱吗？我家猫会后空翻 $9.99 1,508 96% 45k $452k (exactly $451,948) 光循花火工作室

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