Do I ship it?

GamesDating SimDating Sim + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Dating Sim?

Dating Sim + Magic

Of 85 developers who shipped a Magic Dating 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.. 136 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $9.9k, ×21 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $4.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×521 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 136 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 20.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 136 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dating Sim + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 85
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $18k → $8.2k → $5.1k → $35k → $17k → $5.5k → $5.5k (still earning) → $6.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dating Sim + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 85
Bottom 30% $4.3k (exactly $4,316)
Median $9.9k (exactly $9,897)
Top 25% $48k (exactly $48,252)
Top 5% $247k (exactly $247,335)
Developers, 2 yr 85
Released games 315
Announced 136
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 15% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Dating Sim
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Magic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Dating Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Adventure, Choices Matter
Price point
$11.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 17,490 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $4.4k, median $9.9k, 1 in 4 over $48k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $4.4k. 6 in 10 of the 47 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 136 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + WarStrong odds8 devs · median $100k · 3 announced
  2. + FMVStrong odds148 devs · median $57k · 111 announced
  3. + Souls-likeStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  4. + AliensStrong odds20 devs · median $6.7k · 15 announced
  5. + PlatformerStrong odds19 devs · median $3.0k · 15 announced
  6. + HistoricalFair39 devs · median $27k · 44 announced
  7. + FPSFair47 devs · median $19k · 36 announced
  8. + Post-apocalypticFair29 devs · median $15k · 34 announced
  9. + Quick-Time EventsFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  10. + Immersive SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  11. + Action-AdventureFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  12. + TacticalFair13 devs · median $11k · 9 announced

All 142 pairs on the Dating Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sun Haven older $24.99 22,069 79% 662k $17M (exactly $16,545,129) Pixel Sprout Studios
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma $59.99 2,947 88% 88k $5.3M (exactly $5,303,716) Marvelous Inc.
Magical Princess $14.99 7,636 96% 229k $3.4M (exactly $3,433,909) Neotro Inc., MAGI Inc.
Rune Factory 5 older $39.99 1,940 76% 58k $2.3M (exactly $2,327,418) Marvelous Inc.
Rune Factory 4 Special older $29.99 2,070 88% 62k $1.9M (exactly $1,862,379) Marvelous Inc.
Wylde Flowers older $24.99 2,329 95% 70k $1.7M (exactly $1,746,051) Studio Drydock Pty Ltd
Fairy Fencer F Advent Dark Force older $19.99 2,079 85% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,246,776) IDEA FACTORY, COMPILE HEART
9-nine-:Episode 2 older $19.99 1,948 98% 58k $1.2M (exactly $1,168,216) PALETTE
美女,请别影响我成仙 $10.99 3,140 93% 94k $1.0M (exactly $1,035,258) 蒸汽满满工作室
Rune Factory 3 Special older $39.99 734 94% 22k $881k (exactly $880,580) Marvelous Inc.
Nigate Tale $19.99 678 67% 20k $407k (exactly $406,597) Hermit Games, 2P Games
Souper Game $14.99 550 78% 17k $247k (exactly $247,335) SinBeans Studio
Sex & Blood: Vampires $9.99 759 71% 23k $227k (exactly $227,472) Taboo Tales 💘
The Seven Realms: High Lathión $12.99 427 80% 13k $166k (exactly $166,402) SeptCloud Games
The Lust City 2 $15.99 315 79% 9.5k $151k (exactly $151,106) Candylight Studio
Awaken: Hentai Dice $14.99 333 57% 10k $150k (exactly $149,750) TopHouse Studio
Cradle of Nightmare : Flowers to you $6.99 705 92% 21k $148k (exactly $147,838) 红锈雨

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