Games › Shop Keeper › Shop Keeper + Capitalism
Should I ship a Capitalist Shop Keeper?
Shop Keeper + Capitalism
Of 135 developers who shipped a Capitalist Shop Keeper 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.. 204 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $8.4k, ×18 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $990; 1 in 20 cleared $550k, ×1172 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 204 games are announced against 112 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $987 (exactly $987) |
|---|---|
| Median | $8.4k (exactly $8,361) |
| Top 25% | $53k (exactly $53,130) |
| Top 5% | $557k (exactly $556,729) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 135 |
| Released games | 167 |
| Announced | 204 |
| 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 down 60% on the market, supply 330% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Capitalism
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Shop Keeper; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Economy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 63,967 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $990. 6 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 204 games are announced against 112 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Shop Keeper with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + HorrorFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + ModernFair
- + StrategyFair
- + LogicFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + NaturePoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | TCG Card Shop Simulator | $19.99 | 47,357 96% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $28,399,993) | OPNeon Games | |
| | Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale | older | $19.99 | 6,684 95% | 201k | $4.0M (exactly $4,008,395) | EasyGameStation |
| | Storage Hunter Simulator | $24.99 | 3,866 78% | 116k | $2.9M (exactly $2,898,340) | Raccoons Studio | |
| | Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault | $29.99 | 3,146 80% | 94k | $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) | Digital Sun | |
| | King of Retail | older | $25.99 | 2,982 88% | 89k | $2.3M (exactly $2,325,065) | Freaking Games |
| | Dealer's Life 2 | older | $14.99 | 3,994 85% | 120k | $1.8M (exactly $1,796,102) | Abyte Entertainment |
| | Saleblazers | · EA older | $29.99 | 1,974 78% | 59k | $1.8M (exactly $1,776,008) | AIRSTRAFE INTERACTIVE |
| | Discounty | $19.99 | 2,322 82% | 70k | $1.4M (exactly $1,392,503) | Crinkle Cut Games | |
| | Another Brick in The Mall | older | $16.99 | 2,340 83% | 70k | $1.2M (exactly $1,192,698) | The Quadsphere |
| | No Umbrellas Allowed | older | $19.99 | 1,394 80% | 42k | $836k (exactly $835,982) | Hoochoo Game Studios |
| | Megastore Simulator | · EA | $13.99 | 1,968 93% | 59k | $826k (exactly $825,970) | Yolo Games Studio |
| | Bookshop Simulator | $15.99 | 1,496 92% | 45k | $718k (exactly $717,631) | Blep Games | |
| | Better Mart Simulator | $14.99 | 1,238 89% | 37k | $557k (exactly $556,729) | Exanticx Studio | |
| | Clothing Store Simulator | $12.99 | 1,119 89% | 34k | $436k (exactly $436,074) | Kiki Games | |
| | Potion Tycoon | $19.99 | 629 71% | 19k | $377k (exactly $377,211) | Snowhound Games | |
| | Tobacco Shop Simulator | $11.99 | 826 89% | 25k | $297k (exactly $297,112) | Business Tycoon |
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.