Do I ship it?

GamesPolitical SimPolitical Sim + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Political Sim?

Political Sim + Artificial Intelligence

Only 15 developers shipped an AI Political 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, Halo: Campaign Evolved, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.7k, ×12 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $18M, ×39504 the market median. Revenue is up 3270% on the market; 33 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 3270% on the market, 33 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Political Sim + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $131k → $21k (still earning) → $14k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Political Sim + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $5.7k (exactly $5,694)
Top 25% $39k (exactly $38,674)
Top 5% $19M (exactly $18,764,246)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 41
Announced 33
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 3270% on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Political 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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Political Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Choices Matter
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 62% positive over 13,300 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $5.7k, 1 in 4 over $38k, 1 in 20 over $18M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DetectiveFair10 devs · median $9.9k · 15 announced
  2. + Psychological HorrorFair10 devs · median $4.8k · 16 announced
  3. + IdlerFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 14 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $832 · 16 announced
  5. + Board GameFair18 devs · median $600 · 13 announced
  6. + TabletopFair12 devs · median $600 · 12 announced
  7. + CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  8. + Sci-fiPoor odds24 devs · median $17k · 33 announced
  9. + FuturisticPoor odds16 devs · median $15k · 27 announced
  10. + 4XPoor odds29 devs · median $12k · 50 announced
  11. + Cold WarPoor odds15 devs · median $9.9k · 23 announced
  12. + BuildingPoor odds37 devs · median $9.6k · 83 announced

All 72 pairs on the Political Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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
Halo: Campaign Evolved $49.99 12,512 61% 375k $19M (exactly $18,764,246) Halo Studios
Democracy 4 older $29.99 5,891 81% 177k $5.3M (exactly $5,300,133) Positech Games
Ages of Conflict: World War Simulator · EA older $6.99 8,904 96% 267k $1.9M (exactly $1,867,169) JoySpark Games
Power & Revolution 2020 Edition older $49.99 769 63% 23k $1.2M (exactly $1,153,269) Eversim
Fantasy Map Simulator · EA older $7.99 4,190 89% 126k $1.0M (exactly $1,004,343) The Stranger
SuperPower 3 older $29.99 982 10% 29k $884k (exactly $883,505) GolemLabs
Deisim older $14.99 873 93% 26k $393k (exactly $392,588) Myron Games
Rogue AI Simulator older $11.99 364 82% 11k $131k (exactly $130,931) Nerdook Productions
Pandora's Toybox $9.99 372 83% 11k $111k (exactly $111,488) BetaLab
Mr. President $19.99 162 75% 4.9k $97k (exactly $97,151) Exia Labs
Lunar Ascendant $14.99 86 44% 2.6k $39k (exactly $38,674) Darts Games
Epoch Cycle $8.99 79 68% 2.4k $21k (exactly $21,306) GeometricUniverse
POTUS Election Sim $9.99 47 53% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,086) Dackers Studios
Life of an NPC · EA $14.99 21 52% 630 $9.4k (exactly $9,444) Max Loh
Command by Voice: World Conquest · EA $9.99 19 52% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) Side Meicai
Nexus Wars · EA $24.99 1 0% 30 $750 (exactly $750) Ajion Arts
Imperial Wager: The Shattered Crown of Augustus $19.99 1 0% 30 $600 (exactly $600) Ke Zhou

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