Games › Building › Building + Dating Sim
Should I ship a Building Dating Sim?
Building + Dating Sim
Of 28 developers who shipped a Building Dating 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.. 61 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $85k, ×135 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $19k; 1 in 20 cleared $36M, ×57349 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 61 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $19k (exactly $18,936) |
|---|---|
| Median | $85k (exactly $84,530) |
| Top 25% | $324k (exactly $323,838) |
| Top 5% | $36M (exactly $36,014,994) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 72 |
| Announced | 61 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $13.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Building
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Dating Sim
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Building, Dating Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, RPG, Sandbox
- Price point
- $13.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $13.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 128,799 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $19k. 4 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Building with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + CatsFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Vehicular CombatPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + CrimePoor odds
- + SailingPoor odds
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Stardew Valley 2016 · $402M 
The Scroll of Taiwu : Beyond The Dome 2026 · $51M 
inZOI 2025 · EA · $36M 
My Time at Sandrock 2023 · $29M 
Coral Island 2023 · $20M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stardew Valley | older | $14.99 | 894,201 98% | 27M | $402M (exactly $402,122,190) | ConcernedApe |
| | The Scroll of Taiwu : Beyond The Dome | $29.99 | 56,535 65% | 1.7M | $51M (exactly $50,864,540) | ConchShip Games | |
| | inZOI | · EA | $39.99 | 30,020 77% | 901k | $36M (exactly $36,014,994) | inZOI Studio |
| | My Time at Sandrock | older | $39.99 | 24,110 88% | 723k | $29M (exactly $28,924,767) | Pathea Games |
| | Coral Island | older | $29.99 | 21,828 89% | 655k | $20M (exactly $19,638,652) | Stairway Games |
 | Fields of Mistria | $13.99 | 31,918 96% | 958k | $13M (exactly $13,395,985) | NPC Studio | |
 | Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma | $59.99 | 2,947 88% | 88k | $5.3M (exactly $5,303,716) | Marvelous Inc. | |
 | STORY OF SEASONS: Grand Bazaar | $49.99 | 3,140 93% | 94k | $4.7M (exactly $4,709,058) | Marvelous Inc. | |
 | AI＊Shoujo/AI＊少女 | older | $69.99 | 2,100 75% | 63k | $4.4M (exactly $4,409,370) | ILLUSION |
 | Clanfolk | · EA older | $29.99 | 3,779 91% | 113k | $3.4M (exactly $3,399,966) | MinMax Games Ltd. |
 | Return from Core | $16.99 | 1,620 75% | 49k | $826k (exactly $825,714) | 顽核社 FuncoreClub | |
 | BM General Hospital | $7.99 | 1,368 86% | 41k | $328k (exactly $327,910) | zzzgame | |
 | One Lonely Outpost | $19.99 | 540 58% | 16k | $324k (exactly $323,838) | indie.io | |
 | Tamer: King of Dinosaurs | · EA | $24.99 | 347 86% | 10k | $260k (exactly $260,146) | Ride the Lion Studios |
 | Orange Season | $14.99 | 364 59% | 11k | $164k (exactly $163,691) | Innerfire Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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