Do I ship it?

GamesEconomyEconomy + Dating Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dating Sim Economy game?

Economy + Dating Sim

Of 23 developers who shipped a Dating Sim 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.. 30 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $8.4k, ×13 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×239 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 30 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 13.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 30 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Dating Sim
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: $78k → $31k → $26k → $18k → $8.4k (still earning) → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Dating Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $1.6k (exactly $1,619)
Median $8.4k (exactly $8,392)
Top 25% $85k (exactly $84,530)
Top 5% $150k (exactly $149,833)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 58
Announced 30
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 down 20% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dating Sim
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Economy, Dating Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Time Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 2,874 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.7k, median $8.4k, 1 in 4 over $84k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.7k. 5 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Economy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorFair116 devs · median $22k · 125 announced
  2. + Football (Soccer)Fair21 devs · median $6.8k · 29 announced
  3. + ScienceFair39 devs · median $5.9k · 39 announced
  4. + MiningFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  5. + LootFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  6. + CollectathonFair125 devs · median $3.8k · 151 announced
  7. + God GameFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  8. + Auto BattlerFair59 devs · median $2.4k · 79 announced
  9. + IdlerFair441 devs · median $2.3k · 589 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair408 devs · median $2.2k · 612 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  12. + Strategy RPGFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced

All 161 pairs on the Economy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Idol Manager older $19.99 3,777 87% 113k $2.3M (exactly $2,265,067) Glitch Pitch
Max Gentlemen Sexy Business! older $19.99 1,492 92% 45k $895k (exactly $894,752) The Men Who Wear Many Hats
Maid Cafe on Electric Street $18.99 595 82% 18k $339k (exactly $338,972) Adventurer's Tavern
Love Tavern older $11.99 778 73% 23k $280k (exactly $279,847) Secret Labo
Internet Cafe Evolution older $14.99 606 74% 18k $273k (exactly $272,518) Tiny Flame Games
Futanari★Coffee shop $13.99 357 91% 11k $150k (exactly $149,833) W77Games
Photo Studio Simulator $14.99 260 80% 7.8k $117k (exactly $116,922) JesseMJ
Club Naughty older $24.99 130 34% 3.9k $97k (exactly $97,461) Ripknot Systems
Happy Endings $6.99 429 86% 13k $90k (exactly $89,961) Late Night Studios
One Iced Latte With Your Breast Milk, Please! $9.99 292 83% 8.8k $88k (exactly $87,512) azaly, nemuaki
九州:立志 $11.99 235 81% 7.1k $85k (exactly $84,530) Xbgzs
Lights and Shadow $9.99 216 76% 6.5k $65k (exactly $64,735) Jiahe Studio 茄盒互动
吾皇万岁 $4.99 422 68% 13k $63k (exactly $63,173) AI GAME STUDIO
Voyeur Villa - Harem Manager $19.99 44 75% 1.3k $26k (exactly $26,387) Sexy Hentai Games Factory
猫猫旅行社欢迎你! Momo's Revitalization Project! $24.99 24 91% 720 $18k (exactly $17,993) CyberStep, Inc.

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