Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + Cyberpunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cyberpunk Life Sim?

Life Sim + Cyberpunk

Of 23 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk 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.. 61 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $53k, ×85 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 61 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 61 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + Cyberpunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $15k → $25k → $33k → $5.7k → $5.8k → $299 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + Cyberpunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,617)
Top 25% $9.3k (exactly $9,281)
Top 5% $54k (exactly $53,646)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 54
Announced 61
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 130% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Cyberpunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Life Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.98 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Story Rich, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.98 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 3,788 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $9.2k, 1 in 20 over $53k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds38 devs · median $54k · 21 announced
  2. + MinigamesStrong odds20 devs · median $11k · 19 announced
  3. + MusicStrong odds28 devs · median $9.2k · 20 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair144 devs · median $19k · 153 announced
  5. + Football (Soccer)Fair10 devs · median $10k · 16 announced
  6. + FaithFair11 devs · median $9.4k · 13 announced
  7. + Artificial IntelligenceFair92 devs · median $7.3k · 121 announced
  8. + GamblingFair28 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + DemonsFair16 devs · median $2.4k · 22 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair162 devs · median $2.4k · 219 announced
  11. + LogicFair70 devs · median $1.5k · 74 announced
  12. + ZombiesFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 34 announced

All 173 pairs on the Life Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action older $14.99 33,838 97% 1.0M $15M (exactly $15,216,949) Sukeban Games
Punch Club 2: Fast Forward older $19.99 3,808 81% 114k $2.3M (exactly $2,283,658) Lazy Bear Games
Ostranauts $19.99 3,137 77% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,259) Blue Bottle Games
Chill Pulse older $4.99 4,619 95% 139k $691k (exactly $691,464) Catos Game
Anonymous Hacker Simulator older $19.99 741 85% 22k $444k (exactly $444,378) Sicarius
Mech Mechanic Simulator older $19.99 538 61% 16k $323k (exactly $322,639) Polyslash
Dynopunk older $14.99 456 93% 14k $205k (exactly $205,063) Tomato Fantasy Games
OnlyFap Simulator 4 💦 older $6.99 398 59% 12k $83k (exactly $83,461) BanzaiProject
OnlyFap Simulator 2 💦 older $6.99 367 60% 11k $77k (exactly $76,960) BanzaiProject
Cybersex Chronicles [18+] older $9.99 232 47% 7.0k $70k (exactly $69,530) Octo Games
STRAY GIRL 🔞 $9.99 179 79% 5.4k $54k (exactly $53,646) Carnality INC
Alien Market Simulator $12.99 124 83% 3.7k $48k (exactly $48,323) Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainme… (Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainment)
Lower? Higher! $9.99 146 67% 4.4k $44k (exactly $43,756) Unplugged Studio
Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced $16.98 32 100% 960 $16k (exactly $16,301) zorkie studios
School Teacher Simulator $4.99 62 80% 1.9k $9.3k (exactly $9,281) Eathrabaria
Torrent Empire $7.99 24 62% 720 $5.8k (exactly $5,753) Steel Games
CyberControl: Another Life $4.99 38 81% 1.1k $5.7k (exactly $5,689) Cat Games Studio
Where Girls Are Made $4.99 36 55% 1.1k $5.4k (exactly $5,389) HelloArisu Games
Octopus Goulash $12.99 10 70% 300 $3.9k (exactly $3,897) Alessio Serenellini

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