Do I ship it?

GamesChoices MatterChoices Matter + Shop Keeper

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Choices Matter Shop Keeper?

Choices Matter + Shop Keeper

Of 59 developers who shipped a Choices Matter 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.. 178 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $480k, ×1031 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 178 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 178 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Choices Matter + Shop Keeper
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 59
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $25k → $2.7k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Choices Matter + Shop Keeper: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 59
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,698)
Top 25% $26k (exactly $25,720)
Top 5% $490k (exactly $489,942)
Developers, 2 yr 59
Released games 71
Announced 178
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 60% on the market, supply 455% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Choices Matter
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Shop Keeper
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Choices Matter, Shop Keeper; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Immersive Sim
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Story Rich, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 13,550 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $25k, 1 in 20 over $480k.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 6 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 178 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Choices Matter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds108 devs · median $58k · 91 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair18 devs · median $4.7k · 15 announced
  3. + SportsFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced
  4. + RhythmFair36 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced
  5. + Hidden ObjectFair261 devs · median $802 · 273 announced
  6. + TriviaFair26 devs · median $599 · 30 announced
  7. + Board GameFair119 devs · median $479 · 150 announced
  8. + RacingFair51 devs · median $449 · 54 announced
  9. + ChessFair19 devs · median $419 · 20 announced
  10. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  11. + RomePoor odds10 devs · median $160k · 19 announced
  12. + World War IPoor odds10 devs · median $57k · 19 announced

All 243 pairs on the Choices Matter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs $19.99 9,209 95% 276k $5.5M (exactly $5,522,637) Mandragora
Dealer's Life 2 older $14.99 3,994 85% 120k $1.8M (exactly $1,796,102) Abyte Entertainment
No Umbrellas Allowed older $19.99 1,394 80% 42k $836k (exactly $835,982) Hoochoo Game Studios
Tavern Talk - A Cozy Visual Novel older $17.99 1,456 87% 44k $786k (exactly $785,803) Gentle Troll Entertainment
inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories $19.99 996 85% 30k $597k (exactly $597,301) Nagai Industries
Saloon Simulator · EA $18.99 860 89% 26k $490k (exactly $489,942) Glivi Games S.A.
Rebirth Pub $17.99 700 92% 21k $378k (exactly $377,790) Seikou Soft.
Potion Tycoon $19.99 629 71% 19k $377k (exactly $377,211) Snowhound Games
Dealer's Life older $9.99 1,257 93% 38k $377k (exactly $376,723) Abyte Entertainment
Final Profit: A Shop RPG older $14.99 520 95% 16k $234k (exactly $233,844) Brent Arnold
King of Retail 2 · EA $19.99 275 79% 8.3k $165k (exactly $164,918) Freaking Games
Corner Shop: NightShift $19.99 206 84% 6.2k $124k (exactly $123,538) Live Motion Games
Dealer's Life Legend $14.99 271 81% 8.1k $122k (exactly $121,869) Abyte Entertainment
LOVE Hotel Simulator 🏩 $14.99 241 70% 7.2k $108k (exactly $108,378) Pocket Rocket Studio 🚀
High Times $19.99 163 90% 4.9k $98k (exactly $97,751) Yangyang Mobile

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