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Should I ship a Choose Your Own Adventure Life Sim?
Life Sim + Choose Your Own Adventure
Of 210 developers who shipped a Choose Your Own Adventure Life 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.. 331 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.7k, ×7.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×852 the market median. Revenue is up 110% on the market; 331 games are announced against 124 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.7k (exactly $3,748) |
| Top 25% | $35k (exactly $35,439) |
| Top 5% | $405k (exactly $404,639) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 210 |
| Released games | 604 |
| Announced | 331 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 up 110% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Life Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Choose Your Own Adventure
- effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim, Choose Your Own Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Choices Matter, Visual Novel
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 42,294 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 131 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 331 games are announced against 124 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + FaithFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + ZombiesFair
Comparable games
Disney Dreamlight Valley 2023 · $26M 
House Party 2022 · $10M 
Mon Bazou 2025 · $9.6M 
Yes, Your Grace 2020 · $7.5M 
60 Seconds! Reatomized 2019 · $5.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Disney Dreamlight Valley | older | $39.99 | 22,027 92% | 661k | $26M (exactly $26,425,792) | Gameloft |
| | House Party | older | $24.99 | 13,968 85% | 419k | $10M (exactly $10,471,810) | Eek! Games, LLC |
| | Mon Bazou | $15.99 | 19,922 97% | 598k | $9.6M (exactly $9,556,583) | Santa Goat | |
| | Yes, Your Grace | older | $19.99 | 12,571 87% | 377k | $7.5M (exactly $7,538,829) | Brave At Night |
| | 60 Seconds! Reatomized | older | $9.99 | 18,362 94% | 551k | $5.5M (exactly $5,503,091) | Robot Gentleman |
 | Magical Princess | $14.99 | 7,636 96% | 229k | $3.4M (exactly $3,433,909) | Neotro Inc., MAGI Inc. | |
 | I Was a Teenage Exocolonist | older | $24.99 | 4,443 96% | 133k | $3.3M (exactly $3,330,917) | Northway Games |
 | School Days | $14.99 | 6,023 77% | 181k | $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) | 白雨工作室 | |
 | Growing Up | older | $14.99 | 3,465 87% | 104k | $1.6M (exactly $1,558,210) | Vile Monarch |
 | CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience | older | $19.99 | 2,596 91% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,821) | Delve Interactive |
 | Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall | $24.99 | 1,488 76% | 45k | $1.1M (exactly $1,115,554) | Brave At Night | |
 | The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian | $24.99 | 1,356 74% | 41k | $1.0M (exactly $1,016,593) | Schisma Games | |
 | Princess Maker: Children of Revelation | · EA | $34.99 | 853 85% | 26k | $895k (exactly $895,394) | GEAR2 |
 | Politics The Game | $9.99 | 2,526 95% | 76k | $757k (exactly $757,042) | Simplicity Games | |
 | Quadrober Simulator | $29.99 | 684 79% | 21k | $615k (exactly $615,395) | PropilGames | |
 | To Pixelia | $14.99 | 1,194 73% | 36k | $537k (exactly $536,942) | Pixeduo Studios | |
 | Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator | · EA | $24.99 | 612 81% | 18k | $459k (exactly $458,816) | Contec Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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