Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Card Game Political Sim?

Political Sim + Card Game

Of 23 developers who shipped a Card Game 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.. 27 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $89k, ×189 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 27 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 27 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Political Sim + Card Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.8k → $153k → $3.6k → $450 → $150 (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Political Sim + Card Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,918)
Top 5% $90k (exactly $89,670)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 45
Announced 27
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 85% on the market, supply 200% 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
Card Game
effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data

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, Card Game; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Deckbuilding, Card Battler
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,014 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $450, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $89k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Political Sim with a different second tag, 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

Twilight Struggle 2016 · $770k Prime Monster 2026 · $185k The Political Machine 2024 2024 · $153k Fate of the World 2011 · $119k Technotopia 2024 · $90k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Twilight Struggle older $9.99 2,568 86% 77k $770k (exactly $769,630) Playdek, Inc.
Prime Monster $19.99 308 83% 9.2k $185k (exactly $184,708) Cavalier Game Studios
The Political Machine 2024 older $19.99 255 74% 7.7k $153k (exactly $152,924) Stardock Entertainment
Fate of the World older $9.99 398 79% 12k $119k (exactly $119,281) Red Redemption
Technotopia $4.99 599 86% 18k $90k (exactly $89,670) Yustas
Vox Populi: Brazil 2022 older $4.99 88 94% 2.6k $13k (exactly $13,174) Velsin
PowerSimulator older $1.99 191 38% 5.7k $11k (exactly $11,403) SHIT MAKER
American Election Simulator older $14.99 20 65% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) FlagmanJeremy
Vox Populi: Poland 2023 older $4.99 59 93% 1.8k $8.8k (exactly $8,832) Velsin
Vox Populi: Europa 2024 older $7.99 32 96% 960 $7.7k (exactly $7,670) Velsin
Balorizon $6.99 25 68% 750 $5.2k (exactly $5,242) Renka
Vox Populi: USA 2024 $7.99 15 80% 450 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Velsin
Grow Empire: Rome $3.99 28 64% 840 $3.4k (exactly $3,352) Games Station
Senatus $4.99 16 81% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Slashware Interactive, Megalevel
Vox Populi: Germany 2025 $7.99 8 87% 240 $1.9k (exactly $1,918) Velsin
Crisis Commander: Strait Of Hormuz $3.99 9 77% 270 $1.1k (exactly $1,077) Kra Kra Games
Vox Populi: Australia 2025 $7.99 4 50% 120 $959 (exactly $959) Velsin
Republic of Jungle $14.99 2 100% 60 $899 (exactly $899) Gerdoo Games

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