Do I ship it?

GamesDating SimDating Sim + Match 3

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Match 3 Dating Sim?

Dating Sim + Match 3

Only 17 developers shipped a Match 3 Dating Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Humans are not that against Lizardwomen 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 2 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.8k, ×40 the market's $120 for a 2 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×980 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 24 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 40.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 24 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dating Sim + Match 3
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $17k → $571 → $6.1k → $4.8k → $9.7k → $6.6k → $7.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dating Sim + Match 3: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,348)
Median $4.8k (exactly $4,790)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,211)
Top 5% $117k (exactly $116,583)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 132
Announced 24
Effort 2 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 60% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Dating Sim
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
Match 3
effort 2 / 10 · high · grid matching rules and cascades

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
2 / 10 · static 2D art, simple logic
Systems
Dating Sim, Match 3; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Choices Matter, Simulation
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,241 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $4.8k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Dating Sim with a different second tag, 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
HuniePop older $9.99 23,989 96% 720k $7.2M (exactly $7,189,503) HuniePot
HuniePop 2: Double Date older $19.99 8,149 91% 244k $4.9M (exactly $4,886,955) HuniePot
Mirror older $1.99 72,623 96% 2.2M $4.3M (exactly $4,335,593) KAGAMI WORKS
ISEKAI QUEST older $3.99 3,679 85% 110k $440k (exactly $440,376) Studio Ginkgo
Wolf of Stock Street older $10.99 878 77% 26k $289k (exactly $289,477) 樹懶叫工作室, sloth gamer
Wish older $2.99 3,115 89% 93k $279k (exactly $279,416) Momentum Games
Furry Shades of Gay 2: A Shade Gayer older $9.99 738 96% 22k $221k (exactly $221,179) Furlough Games
Sex and the Furry Titty 2: Sins of the City older $9.99 708 91% 21k $212k (exactly $212,188) Furlough Games
Sex and the Furry Titty older $6.99 996 90% 30k $209k (exactly $208,861) Furlough Games
LOLLIPOP! older $4.99 1,318 75% 40k $197k (exactly $197,305) 430Games, __Ja__ga__imo__
Humans are not that against Lizardwomen 2 $9.99 389 93% 12k $117k (exactly $116,583) Hue Axis Entertainment
Heartspell: Horizon Academy $19.99 116 96% 3.5k $70k (exactly $69,565) Dire Kitten Games
Hentai Stories $9.99 228 83% 6.8k $68k (exactly $68,332) Horny Capybara Studio
Furry Adventure Club and the Holy Grail 🦁 $6.99 161 93% 4.8k $34k (exactly $33,762) Furry Dreams Lab
Hyperborea: Hornysolation $4.99 164 73% 4.9k $25k (exactly $24,551) Hue Axis Entertainment
Tasty Bite: Food dating simulator $6.99 63 95% 1.9k $13k (exactly $13,211) DuckMemeticsGames
Naughty Store Manager $11.99 27 33% 810 $9.7k (exactly $9,712) eroverse
Pretty Girl Puzzle · Summer Phantom $4.99 50 98% 1.5k $7.5k (exactly $7,485) Pomodoro Lab
Matchmaker: Dungeon Heart $19.99 11 81% 330 $6.6k (exactly $6,597) Ghost Moth
Project: Stellar Girls $4.99 32 46% 960 $4.8k (exactly $4,790) 430Games

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