Games › Physics › Physics + Capitalism
Should I ship a Capitalist Physics game?
Physics + Capitalism
Of 54 developers who shipped a Capitalist Physics game 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.. 124 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.0k, ×8.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $980k, ×1565 the market median. Revenue is up 185% on the market; 124 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $898 (exactly $898) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.0k (exactly $5,034) |
| Top 25% | $35k (exactly $35,331) |
| Top 5% | $983k (exactly $983,060) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 54 |
| Released games | 110 |
| Announced | 124 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 185% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Physics
- effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning
- Capitalism
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Physics; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Sandbox
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 25,021 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 124 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Physics with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderStrong odds
- + Dating SimFair
- + PinballFair
- + World War IIFair
- + Mini GolfFair
- + GolfFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CatsFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + BilliardsFair
Comparable games
Waterpark Simulator 2026 · $5.2M 
Arctic Eggs 2024 · $1.6M 
Recycling Center Simulator 2024 · $1.6M 
The Walking Trade 2026 · $983k 
Horsey Game 2026 · $872k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Waterpark Simulator | $12.99 | 13,280 96% | 398k | $5.2M (exactly $5,175,216) | CayPlay | |
| | Arctic Eggs | older | $9.99 | 5,343 95% | 160k | $1.6M (exactly $1,601,297) | The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie,… (The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, Cameron Ginex) |
| | Recycling Center Simulator | $19.99 | 2,594 84% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,555,622) | Balas Games | |
| | The Walking Trade | $11.99 | 2,733 86% | 82k | $983k (exactly $983,060) | Microwave Games | |
| | Horsey Game | $9.99 | 2,911 97% | 87k | $872k (exactly $872,427) | Captain Games | |
 | Shoppe Keep 2 | older | $9.99 | 1,527 57% | 46k | $458k (exactly $457,642) | Strange Fire |
 | Mech Mechanic Simulator | older | $19.99 | 538 61% | 16k | $323k (exactly $322,639) | Polyslash |
 | Project P.I.T.T. | $9.99 | 961 78% | 29k | $288k (exactly $288,012) | Froke | |
 | GolfTopia | older | $19.99 | 477 95% | 14k | $286k (exactly $286,057) | MinMax Games Ltd. |
 | Aquapark Tycoon | · EA | $22.99 | 278 89% | 8.3k | $192k (exactly $191,737) | Boxelware |
 | Worming from Home | $7.99 | 793 98% | 24k | $190k (exactly $190,082) | Zach Northrop, Mason Sabharwal | |
 | Coin Push RPG | $9.99 | 584 76% | 18k | $175k (exactly $175,025) | RAmen | |
 | Bakery Cafe Simulator | · EA | $11.99 | 380 70% | 11k | $137k (exactly $136,686) | Meerkatt Studio |
 | Smash Hit Museum | $6.99 | 507 85% | 15k | $106k (exactly $106,318) | InIt Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.