Games › Management › Management + Choices Matter
Should I ship a Choices Matter Management game?
Management + Choices Matter
Of 499 developers who shipped a Choices Matter Management 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.. 1,039 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×4.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $790k, ×1272 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 1,039 games are announced against 332 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $718 (exactly $718) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) |
| Top 25% | $25k (exactly $25,187) |
| Top 5% | $799k (exactly $798,756) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 499 |
| Released games | 1,118 |
| Announced | 1,039 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 down 55% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Management
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Choices Matter
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Management, Choices Matter; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Resource Management
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 102,438 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 198 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,039 games are announced against 332 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
Crusader Kings III 2020 · $142M 
Frostpunk 2018 · $103M 
Anno 1800 2019 · $54M 
This War of Mine 2014 · $49M 
Frostpunk 2 2024 · $28M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Crusader Kings III | older | $49.99 | 94,615 90% | 2.8M | $142M (exactly $141,894,116) | Paradox Development Studio |
| | Frostpunk | older | $29.99 | 114,376 92% | 3.4M | $103M (exactly $102,904,087) | 11 bit studios |
| | Anno 1800 | older | $59.99 | 29,854 81% | 896k | $54M (exactly $53,728,244) | Ubisoft Mainz |
| | This War of Mine | older | $19.99 | 81,804 93% | 2.5M | $49M (exactly $49,057,859) | 11 bit studios |
| | Frostpunk 2 | $44.99 | 20,872 74% | 626k | $28M (exactly $28,170,938) | 11 bit studios | |
 | OCTOPATH TRAVELER™ | older | $59.99 | 13,923 85% | 418k | $25M (exactly $25,057,223) | Square Enix, ACQUIRE Corp. |
 | Foundation | $34.99 | 23,037 86% | 691k | $24M (exactly $24,181,939) | Polymorph Games | |
 | Tropico 6 | older | $39.99 | 19,837 88% | 595k | $24M (exactly $23,798,449) | Limbic Entertainment, Realmforge Studios |
 | Imperator: Rome | older | $39.99 | 19,492 65% | 585k | $23M (exactly $23,384,552) | Paradox Development Studio |
 | Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator | older | $19.99 | 37,870 92% | 1.1M | $23M (exactly $22,710,639) | niceplay games |
 | Anno 117: Pax Romana | $59.99 | 12,150 69% | 365k | $22M (exactly $21,866,355) | Ubisoft Mainz | |
 | Quarantine Zone: The Last Check | $19.99 | 11,827 81% | 355k | $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) | Brigada Games | |
 | Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days | · EA | $24.99 | 9,049 89% | 271k | $6.8M (exactly $6,784,035) | PikPok |
 | ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs | $19.99 | 9,209 95% | 276k | $5.5M (exactly $5,522,637) | Mandragora | |
 | Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown | $34.99 | 4,162 79% | 125k | $4.4M (exactly $4,368,851) | Gamexcite | |
 | The Crust | $31.99 | 3,502 76% | 105k | $3.4M (exactly $3,360,869) | VEOM Studio | |
 | News Tower | $24.99 | 4,316 94% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,235,705) | Sparrow Night | |
 | Mind Over Magic | $24.99 | 4,314 86% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,234,206) | Sparkypants |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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