Games › Combat › Combat + Life Sim
Should I ship a Combat Life Sim?
Combat + Life Sim
Of 48 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 122 more are announced, ×4.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×565 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 122 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.1k (exactly $1,139) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $11,203) |
| Top 5% | $355k (exactly $354,608) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 48 |
| Released games | 115 |
| Announced | 122 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 50% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Combat, Life Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Open World, RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Dark Humor
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 14,345 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Combat with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds
- + 4XFair
- + TypingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + SnowFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Match 3Long shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Political SimPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Sun Haven 2023 · $17M 
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check 2026 · $7.1M 
Kynseed 2022 · $2.6M 
Punch Club 2: Fast Forward 2023 · $2.3M 
Chef RPG 2024 · EA · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Sun Haven | older | $24.99 | 22,069 79% | 662k | $17M (exactly $16,545,129) | Pixel Sprout Studios |
| | Quarantine Zone: The Last Check | $19.99 | 11,827 81% | 355k | $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) | Brigada Games | |
| | Kynseed | older | $24.99 | 3,513 83% | 105k | $2.6M (exactly $2,633,696) | PixelCount Studios |
| | Punch Club 2: Fast Forward | older | $19.99 | 3,808 81% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,283,658) | Lazy Bear Games |
| | Chef RPG | · EA older | $19.99 | 2,593 87% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,555,022) | World 2 Studio |
 | Skoof Simulator | older | $29.99 | 935 83% | 28k | $841k (exactly $841,220) | PropilGames |
 | Quadrober Simulator | $29.99 | 684 79% | 21k | $615k (exactly $615,395) | PropilGames | |
 | 沉默的蟋蟀 | older | $14.99 | 1,130 88% | 34k | $508k (exactly $508,161) | 蓬莱飞鱼工作室 |
 | Hard Time III | older | $14.99 | 929 85% | 28k | $418k (exactly $417,771) | MDickie |
 | Hentai Femdom Sim: Femdom University | older | $34.99 | 348 79% | 10k | $365k (exactly $365,296) | SaliaCoel |
 | It's Only Money | $24.99 | 473 78% | 14k | $355k (exactly $354,608) | Usual Suspects Studios | |
 | MMA Life Simulator | $16.99 | 435 80% | 13k | $222k (exactly $221,719) | BNS7 | |
 | Weed Shop 4: Highland | · EA | $19.99 | 205 52% | 6.2k | $123k (exactly $122,938) | Weed Games |
 | Nature & Life - Drunk On Nectar | $14.99 | 263 87% | 7.9k | $118k (exactly $118,271) | Venugopalan Sreedharan | |
 | DRUDGE | · EA | $12.99 | 139 94% | 4.2k | $54k (exactly $54,168) | Writegg |
 | Space Chef | $14.99 | 105 73% | 3.2k | $47k (exactly $47,218) | Blue Goo Games | |
 | Primeval | $14.99 | 75 60% | 2.3k | $34k (exactly $33,728) | Exhibyte | |
 | Assenizator | $4.99 | 139 93% | 4.2k | $21k (exactly $20,808) | alexkab |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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