Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Life Sim?

Life Sim + Dark Fantasy

Of 22 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy 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.. 43 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×345 the market median. Revenue is up 2985% on the market; 43 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 2985% on the market, 43 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $150 → $672 → $33k → $9.9k → $359 → $25k (still earning) → $34k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,436)
Top 25% $34k (exactly $33,566)
Top 5% $217k (exactly $216,755)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 46
Announced 43
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 up 2985% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Dark Fantasy
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, Resource Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 3,155 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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
Kynseed older $24.99 3,513 83% 105k $2.6M (exactly $2,633,696) PixelCount Studios
The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian $24.99 1,356 74% 41k $1.0M (exactly $1,016,593) Schisma Games
Super Seducer : How to Talk to Girls older $12.99 1,602 83% 48k $624k (exactly $624,299) RLR Training Inc
The Bathhouse | 地獄銭湯 Restored Edition older $7.99 1,227 90% 37k $294k (exactly $294,112) Chilla's Art
Nested Lands · EA $14.99 482 73% 14k $217k (exactly $216,755) 1M Bits Horde
Burning Boundaries Part 1 $14.99 482 86% 14k $217k (exactly $216,755) T4bbo
Dismantling Workshop of Bio-Girl $29.99 120 61% 3.6k $108k (exactly $107,964) 渡里laboratory
Dungeon Bodega Simulator $9.99 320 98% 9.6k $96k (exactly $95,904) Alien Fruit
Cute Bite older $14.99 93 78% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) Hanako Games
Minsgon Simulator $9.99 112 78% 3.4k $34k (exactly $33,566) Vokcen
Genesis of a Small God $17.99 61 80% 1.8k $33k (exactly $32,922) Pierre Nury
Lord Goblin · EA $9.99 89 76% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,673) BBBen and his Big Brass Band
The Story Page · EA $7.99 103 78% 3.1k $25k (exactly $24,689) SPR-Games
EmyLiveShow: Demons & Mistresses Tale $10.99 30 83% 900 $9.9k (exactly $9,891) Team Emily

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