Do I ship it?

GamesImmersive SimImmersive Sim + Conspiracy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Conspiracy Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Conspiracy

Of 35 developers who shipped a Conspiracy 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.. 85 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300. 85 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper, while revenue is up 160% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 160% on the market, 85 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Conspiracy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $4.8k → $748 → $11k → $807 → $1.3k (still earning) → $718 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Conspiracy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $6.6k (exactly $6,597)
Top 5% $63k (exactly $62,968)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 100
Announced 85
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 160% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Conspiracy
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 685 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $900, 1 in 4 over $6.5k, 1 in 20 over $62k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. All of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided older $29.99 30,709 77% 921k $28M (exactly $27,628,887) Eidos Montreal, Feral Interactive (Linu… (Eidos Montreal, Feral Interactive (Linux/Mac))
The Operator older $13.99 8,515 91% 255k $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) Bureau 81
Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition older $6.99 13,740 94% 412k $2.9M (exactly $2,881,278) Ion Storm
Solium Infernum older $39.99 1,571 88% 47k $1.9M (exactly $1,884,729) League of Geeks
Happy's Humble Burger Farm older $19.99 1,704 93% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,021,889) Scythe Dev Team
NUTS older $24.99 884 88% 27k $663k (exactly $662,735) Joon, Pol, Muutsch, Char & Torfi
Deus Ex: Invisible War older $6.99 2,199 57% 66k $461k (exactly $461,130) Ion Storm
CaseCracker2 older $11.99 759 90% 23k $273k (exactly $273,012) BlackRobe
Booth: A Dystopian Adventure older $9.99 354 88% 11k $106k (exactly $106,094) Guanpeng Chen
Defending Lydia Collier · EA older $19.99 130 88% 3.9k $78k (exactly $77,961) White Phantom Games
PARKSIDE: DECAYED SOUL MANIPULATION $13.99 178 87% 5.3k $75k (exactly $74,707) Banana Hardsoft
Moves Of The Diamond Hand · EA $19.99 105 100% 3.2k $63k (exactly $62,968) Cosmo D Studios
Mars Vice $24.99 70 97% 2.1k $52k (exactly $52,479) Rho Labyrinths GmbH
DETECTIVE - Rainy night $10.99 80 70% 2.4k $26k (exactly $26,376) k148 Game Studio
Cyberscape $14.99 43 93% 1.3k $19k (exactly $19,337) AtomicTorch Studio
These Darker Tides $7.99 76 90% 2.3k $18k (exactly $18,217) Pixel Drip Games
Things Too Ugly $7.99 47 89% 1.4k $11k (exactly $11,266) Professor Space Games
Void Future: Hacking Protocol $14.99 17 88% 510 $7.6k (exactly $7,645) RVL Interactive
Legs Wide Open $19.99 11 90% 330 $6.6k (exactly $6,597) SinVR
Symptoms of Infection · EA $3.50 58 89% 1.7k $6.1k (exactly $6,090) ORB Research & Broadcasting

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