Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Combat

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Combat

Of 118 developers who shipped a Combat Immersive 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.. 301 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×1.5 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×676 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 301 games are announced against 83 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 301 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Combat
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 118
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.8k → $2.7k → $14k → $14k → $2.2k → $3.6k → $2.2k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Combat: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 118
Bottom 30% $360 (exactly $360)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Top 25% $36k (exactly $35,610)
Top 5% $1.0M (exactly $1,012,441)
Developers, 2 yr 118
Released games 297
Announced 301
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 25% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Immersive Sim
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, Combat; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Simulation, Open World
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 68,006 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 301 games are announced against 83 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

No Rest for the Wicked 2024 · EA · $79M Bodycam 2024 · EA · $60M Undisputed 2024 · $29M Zero Hour 2024 · $8.6M Quarantine Zone: The Last Check 2026 · $7.1M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
No Rest for the Wicked · EA older $39.99 66,102 80% 2.0M $79M (exactly $79,302,569) Moon Studios GmbH
Bodycam · EA older $33.32 60,179 80% 1.8M $60M (exactly $60,154,928) Reissad Studio
Undisputed $49.99 19,190 60% 576k $29M (exactly $28,779,243) Steel City Interactive
Zero Hour older $9.99 28,570 78% 857k $8.6M (exactly $8,562,429) AttritoM7 Productions
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check $19.99 11,827 81% 355k $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) Brigada Games
Ghosts of Tabor · EA older $24.99 9,140 70% 274k $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) Combat Waffle Studios
Day of Dragons · EA older $19.99 6,278 68% 188k $3.8M (exactly $3,764,917) Beawesome Games
Fatekeeper · EA $9.99 10,605 80% 318k $3.2M (exactly $3,178,318) Paraglacial
Redfall older $39.99 2,460 40% 74k $3.0M (exactly $2,951,262) Arkane Austin
Aerofly FS 4 Flight Simulator older $59.99 1,400 89% 42k $2.5M (exactly $2,519,580) IPACS
Mage Arena · EA $2.99 17,800 91% 534k $1.6M (exactly $1,596,660) jrsjams
JIANGHU CHRONICLES $17.99 2,046 70% 61k $1.1M (exactly $1,104,226) 一品阁
PIGFACE · EA $12.99 2,598 96% 78k $1.0M (exactly $1,012,441) titolovesyou
DREADZONE · EA $24.99 1,180 51% 35k $885k (exactly $884,646) Eshed
GERONIMO · EA $19.99 1,267 81% 38k $760k (exactly $759,820) Dark Matter Studios
IRON REBELLION $24.99 772 84% 23k $579k (exactly $578,768) Black Beach Studio
Beyond Hanwell $24.99 721 75% 22k $541k (exactly $540,534) Steel Arts Software Ltd

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