Games › Simulation › Simulation + Cyberpunk
Should I ship a Cyberpunk Simulation game?
Simulation + Cyberpunk
Of 165 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk Simulation 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.. 294 more are announced, ×2.6 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 $360; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×220 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 294 games are announced against 112 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,617) |
| Top 25% | $8.4k (exactly $8,361) |
| Top 5% | $138k (exactly $138,461) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 165 |
| Released games | 479 |
| Announced | 294 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 70% on the market, supply 105% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Cyberpunk
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Choices Matter
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 8,199 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 68 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 294 games are announced against 112 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action 2016 · $15M 
Cruelty Squad 2021 · $14M 
Hacknet 2015 · $5.1M 
Cyber Manhunt 2021 · $4.4M 
Invisible, Inc. 2015 · $3.1M | 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 |
| | Cruelty Squad | older | $19.99 | 23,209 96% | 696k | $14M (exactly $13,918,437) | Consumer Softproducts |
| | Hacknet | older | $9.99 | 16,910 93% | 507k | $5.1M (exactly $5,067,927) | Team Fractal Alligator |
| | Cyber Manhunt | older | $9.99 | 14,520 92% | 436k | $4.4M (exactly $4,351,644) | Aluba Van+ |
| | Invisible, Inc. | older | $19.99 | 5,096 91% | 153k | $3.1M (exactly $3,056,071) | Klei Entertainment |
 | Jazzpunk: Director's Cut | older | $14.99 | 6,407 94% | 192k | $2.9M (exactly $2,881,228) | Necrophone Games |
 | Baldr Sky | older | $49.99 | 1,524 93% | 46k | $2.3M (exactly $2,285,543) | Sekai Project |
 | Due Process | · EA older | $9.99 | 6,558 83% | 197k | $2.0M (exactly $1,965,433) | Giant Enemy Crab |
 | Ostranauts | $19.99 | 3,137 77% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,881,259) | Blue Bottle Games | |
 | American Arcadia | older | $19.99 | 3,130 94% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,877,061) | Out of the Blue Games |
 | Projekt: Passion - Season 2 | $11.99 | 1,005 93% | 30k | $361k (exactly $361,498) | Classy Lemon | |
 | Deadeye Deepfake Simulacrum | $12.99 | 839 98% | 25k | $327k (exactly $326,958) | nodayshalleraseyou | |
 | Captain Hardcore | · EA | $39.99 | 198 80% | 5.9k | $238k (exactly $237,541) | AntiZero Games |
 | G-Rebels | · EA | $29.99 | 254 79% | 7.6k | $229k (exactly $228,524) | Reakktor Studios |
 | Sex & Blood: Vampires | $9.99 | 759 71% | 23k | $227k (exactly $227,472) | Taboo Tales 💘 | |
 | Nonentity Galaxy | $9.99 | 587 94% | 18k | $176k (exactly $175,924) | Brick-Up Studio | |
 | Berserk B.I.T.S | $6.99 | 667 81% | 20k | $140k (exactly $139,870) | BerserkBoy Games | |
 | Lightracer: For Judge | $9.99 | 462 92% | 14k | $138k (exactly $138,461) | Smartmelon Games | |
 | TK Punk Gold | $11.99 | 291 87% | 8.7k | $105k (exactly $104,673) | 桑尼游戏(Sunny Game) |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.