Games › Economy › Economy + Crime
Should I ship a Crime Economy game?
Economy + Crime
Of 34 developers who shipped a Crime Economy game 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.. 116 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $480k, ×780 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 116 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,617) |
| Top 25% | $31k (exactly $31,479) |
| Top 5% | $490k (exactly $489,942) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 66 |
| Announced | 116 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 95% on the market, supply 285% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Economy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Sandbox
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 4,027 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 116 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Definitely Not Fried Chicken 2023 · $1.6M 
Ravenous Devils 2022 · $1.4M 
City of Gangsters 2021 · $1.2M 
Basement 2019 · $1.0M 
Plutocracy 2019 · EA · $978k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Definitely Not Fried Chicken | older | $24.99 | 2,161 72% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,620,102) | Dope Games |
| | Ravenous Devils | older | $4.99 | 9,477 92% | 284k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,707) | Bad Vices Games |
| | City of Gangsters | older | $29.99 | 1,332 73% | 40k | $1.2M (exactly $1,198,400) | SomaSim |
| | Basement | older | $19.99 | 1,684 76% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) | Halfbus |
| | Plutocracy | · EA older | $24.99 | 1,305 79% | 39k | $978k (exactly $978,358) | Redwood |
 | Weedcraft Inc | older | $19.99 | 1,549 79% | 46k | $929k (exactly $928,935) | Vile Monarch |
 | Used Cars Simulator | · EA | $19.99 | 1,147 79% | 34k | $688k (exactly $687,856) | DreamWay Games |
 | Shadows of Forbidden Gods | older | $19.99 | 1,046 91% | 31k | $627k (exactly $627,286) | Bobby Two Hands |
 | Drug Lord Tycoon | · EA older | $9.99 | 1,671 83% | 50k | $501k (exactly $500,799) | Duhndal |
 | Saloon Simulator | · EA | $18.99 | 860 89% | 26k | $490k (exactly $489,942) | Glivi Games S.A. |
 | Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator | $19.99 | 513 91% | 15k | $308k (exactly $307,646) | Strange Scaffold | |
 | The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire | · EA | $18.99 | 385 81% | 12k | $219k (exactly $219,334) | BEF GAMES |
 | Laundering Simulator - Clean Cash and Laundry | $12.99 | 399 81% | 12k | $155k (exactly $155,490) | Ritual Interactive | |
 | I Know a Guy: Shady Life Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 398 90% | 12k | $155k (exactly $155,101) | Bunch'o'Nerds |
 | Crime Shop Simulator: A Prison Boss Game | $19.99 | 157 85% | 4.7k | $94k (exactly $94,153) | TREBUCHET | |
 | My Drug Cartel | · EA | $24.99 | 48 50% | 1.4k | $36k (exactly $35,986) | Gigicom |
 | Rich List: The Order | · EA | $14.99 | 70 90% | 2.1k | $31k (exactly $31,479) | YUANYE TECH |
 | Speakeasy Simulator | $11.99 | 50 88% | 1.5k | $18k (exactly $17,985) | Arcana Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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