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Should I ship a Choices Matter Political Sim?
Choices Matter + Political Sim
Of 104 developers who shipped a Choices Matter 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.. 210 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 $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×843 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 210 games are announced against 73 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,349) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $17,094) |
| Top 5% | $401k (exactly $400,600) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 104 |
| Released games | 268 |
| Announced | 210 |
| 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 down 30% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Choices Matter
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Political Sim
- 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
- Choices Matter, Political Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Management
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 31,860 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 210 games are announced against 73 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Choices Matter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + SportsFair
- + RhythmFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + TriviaFair
- + Board GameFair
- + RacingFair
- + ChessFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + RomePoor odds
- + World War IPoor odds
Comparable games
Frostpunk 2 2024 · $28M 
Tropico 6 2019 · $24M 
Imperator: Rome 2019 · $23M 
Beholder 2016 · $9.7M 
Not For Broadcast 2022 · $7.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Frostpunk 2 | $44.99 | 20,872 74% | 626k | $28M (exactly $28,170,938) | 11 bit studios | |
| | 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 |
| | Beholder | older | $13.99 | 23,199 91% | 696k | $9.7M (exactly $9,736,620) | Alawar Stargaze (Warm Lamp Games) |
| | Not For Broadcast | older | $24.99 | 10,337 94% | 310k | $7.7M (exactly $7,749,649) | NotGames |
 | Suzerain | older | $19.99 | 10,574 92% | 317k | $6.3M (exactly $6,341,228) | Torpor Games |
 | Democracy 4 | older | $29.99 | 5,891 81% | 177k | $5.3M (exactly $5,300,133) | Positech Games |
 | Do Not Feed the Monkeys | older | $15.99 | 10,376 93% | 311k | $5.0M (exactly $4,977,367) | Fictiorama Studios |
 | Total Conflict: Resistance | · EA older | $29.99 | 5,089 74% | 153k | $4.6M (exactly $4,578,573) | Thunder Devs. |
 | Beholder 2 | older | $17.99 | 6,865 87% | 206k | $3.7M (exactly $3,705,040) | Alawar Stargaze (Warm Lamp Games) |
 | Beholder: Conductor | $13.99 | 4,532 91% | 136k | $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080) | Alawar | |
 | MEMORIAPOLIS | $32.00 | 1,752 75% | 53k | $1.7M (exactly $1,681,920) | 5PM Studio | |
 | The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian | $24.99 | 1,356 74% | 41k | $1.0M (exactly $1,016,593) | Schisma Games | |
 | Thank You For Your Application | $19.99 | 953 81% | 29k | $572k (exactly $571,514) | IceLemonTea Studio | |
 | The Darkest Files | $19.99 | 668 95% | 20k | $401k (exactly $400,600) | Paintbucket Games | |
 | Pompeii: The Legacy | $19.99 | 266 80% | 8.0k | $160k (exactly $159,520) | Siscia Games | |
 | Sinner Maker | · EA | $9.66 | 545 91% | 16k | $158k (exactly $157,941) | Pantokrator |
 | Lightracer: For Judge | $9.99 | 462 92% | 14k | $138k (exactly $138,461) | Smartmelon Games | |
 | Security 51 | $9.99 | 454 71% | 14k | $136k (exactly $136,064) | Alawar |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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