Do I ship it?

GamesPolitical SimPolitical Sim + Capitalism

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Capitalist Political Sim?

Political Sim + Capitalism

Of 60 developers who shipped a Capitalist Political 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.. 98 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×399 the market median. Revenue is up 100% on the market; 98 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 98 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Political Sim + Capitalism
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 60
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $537 → $8.8k → $12k → $2.5k → $1.3k → $6.0k → $3.6k (still earning) → $718 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Political Sim + Capitalism: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 60
Bottom 30% $600 (exactly $600)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $17,094)
Top 5% $190k (exactly $189,674)
Developers, 2 yr 60
Released games 133
Announced 98
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 100% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Capitalism
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Economy, Management
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 3,177 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 98 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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
Victoria 3 older $49.99 41,251 71% 1.2M $62M (exactly $61,864,125) Paradox Development Studio
Tropico 6 older $39.99 19,837 88% 595k $24M (exactly $23,798,449) Limbic Entertainment, Realmforge Studios
Eco · EA older $29.99 11,375 80% 341k $10M (exactly $10,234,088) Strange Loop Games
Democracy 4 older $29.99 5,891 81% 177k $5.3M (exactly $5,300,133) Positech Games
Democracy 3 older $24.99 6,245 73% 187k $4.7M (exactly $4,681,876) Positech Games
Tropico 4 older $14.99 8,211 91% 246k $3.7M (exactly $3,692,487) Haemimont Games
NIMBY Rails · EA older $19.99 2,228 89% 67k $1.3M (exactly $1,336,132) Weird and Wry
Plutocracy · EA older $24.99 1,305 79% 39k $978k (exactly $978,358) Redwood
Geo-Political Simulator 5 $59.99 391 34% 12k $704k (exactly $703,683) Eversim
Imagine Earth older $24.99 810 79% 24k $607k (exactly $607,257) Serious Bros.
Thank You For Your Application $19.99 953 81% 29k $572k (exactly $571,514) IceLemonTea Studio
Geo-Political Simulator 2026 Edition $59.99 249 48% 7.5k $448k (exactly $448,125) Eversim
Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond $24.99 253 39% 7.6k $190k (exactly $189,674) Jujubee
Crisis in the Kremlin: The Cold War $7.99 698 80% 21k $167k (exactly $167,311) Nostalgames
Life Inc. · EA $19.99 154 88% 4.6k $92k (exactly $92,354) Sergio Garcia
For the Fatherland: Chronicle of Park Chung-hee $14.99 176 88% 5.3k $79k (exactly $79,147) KMS STUDIO
Global Protocol: New World Order · EA $19.99 85 71% 2.6k $51k (exactly $50,974) Dorlion Interactive
Microlandia $8.99 143 88% 4.3k $39k (exactly $38,567) Information Superhighway Games
Trade Conquest $14.99 75 69% 2.3k $34k (exactly $33,728) GrandPaw Games

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