Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Artificial Intelligence
Should I ship an AI Life Sim?
Life Sim + Artificial Intelligence
Of 92 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 121 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.3k, ×15 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.1k. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 121 games are announced against 68 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.3k (exactly $7,282) |
| Top 25% | $77k (exactly $77,161) |
| Top 5% | $452k (exactly $451,948) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 92 |
| Released games | 206 |
| Announced | 121 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 40% on the market, supply 170% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Artificial Intelligence
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Management
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 52% positive over 34,339 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 7 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 121 games are announced against 68 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + ZombiesFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | WorldBox - God Simulator | · EA older | $19.99 | 51,071 95% | 1.5M | $31M (exactly $30,627,279) | Maxim Karpenko |
| | Wobbledogs | older | $19.99 | 13,770 98% | 413k | $8.3M (exactly $8,257,869) | Animal Uprising |
| | BidKing | $2.99 | 22,238 33% | 667k | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) | MindSurge Network & Games | |
| | FEMBOY FUTA HOUSE | $14.99 | 4,131 89% | 124k | $1.9M (exactly $1,857,711) | IT'S A TRAP | |
| | The Sapling | · EA older | $17.99 | 1,922 89% | 58k | $1.0M (exactly $1,037,303) | Wessel Stoop |
| | S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH | $13.99 | 2,324 90% | 70k | $975k (exactly $975,383) | U0U Games | |
| | Shawarma Legend | older | $2.99 | 7,210 92% | 216k | $647k (exactly $646,737) | Eyad Alshafei |
| | AV Director Life! | $29.99 | 661 85% | 20k | $595k (exactly $594,702) | TeamKRAMA | |
| | 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 | |
| | Anonymous Hacker Simulator | older | $19.99 | 741 85% | 22k | $444k (exactly $444,378) | Sicarius |
| | Sunset Motel | $18.99 | 728 77% | 22k | $415k (exactly $414,742) | Efkey Studios | |
| | My sexy Neighbour 2 | $14.99 | 849 67% | 25k | $382k (exactly $381,795) | Pocket Rocket Studio 🚀 | |
| | Ecosystem | $19.99 | 601 76% | 18k | $360k (exactly $360,420) | Tom Johnson | |
| | Fairground Online | $29.99 | 387 77% | 12k | $348k (exactly $348,184) | CoasterGalaxyWorld | |
| | Planetary Life | · EA | $11.99 | 912 94% | 27k | $328k (exactly $328,046) | Sotenbox |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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