Games › Sports › Sports + Dating Sim
Should I ship a Dating Sim Sports game?
Sports + Dating Sim
Of 29 developers who shipped a Dating Sim Sports 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.. 21 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $420. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 21 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $418 (exactly $418) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $19,181) |
| Top 5% | $163k (exactly $163,284) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 80 |
| Announced | 21 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Sports
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Dating Sim
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sports, Dating Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Visual Novel, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 3D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 2,943 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Sports with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds
- + CraftingFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + SandboxFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + FMVFair
- + BikesFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + Choose Your Own AdventureFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue | older | $34.99 | 5,080 97% | 152k | $5.3M (exactly $5,332,476) | sprite, NekoNyan Ltd. |
| | Little Busters! English Edition | older | $34.99 | 1,097 97% | 33k | $1.2M (exactly $1,151,521) | VisualArts/Key |
| | Academy Love Saga: Tennis Angels EX | $9.99 | 1,733 85% | 52k | $519k (exactly $519,380) | Tora Creatives | |
| | Westview Academy - Season 1 | $12.99 | 419 73% | 13k | $163k (exactly $163,284) | TakoYuh | |
| | TOGETHER VR | older | $12.99 | 335 62% | 10k | $131k (exactly $130,550) | AURORA Games |
| | The Demon Lord is New in Town! | older | $24.99 | 119 70% | 3.6k | $89k (exactly $89,214) | Daijyobi Institute |
| | Something To Write About: Unbroken: Book One | $13.99 | 201 90% | 6.0k | $84k (exactly $84,360) | SeanchaiStudios | |
| | Smurfs Kart | older | $29.99 | 56 62% | 1.7k | $50k (exactly $50,383) | Eden Games |
| | OnlyFap: Fitness Baby 🔞💦 | older | $6.99 | 211 62% | 6.3k | $44k (exactly $44,247) | BanzaiProject |
| | Academy Love Saga: Tennis Angels | $8.99 | 163 92% | 4.9k | $44k (exactly $43,961) | Tora Creatives | |
| | God of Yoga | $14.99 | 60 61% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $26,982) | WorkNite Games | |
| | Football Rising:Zero to Hero | $14.99 | 54 90% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $24,284) | Den Spade | |
| | Sexercise Club | $7.99 | 99 77% | 3.0k | $24k (exactly $23,730) | Dreamers Workshop | |
| | Basketboy's Adventure | $9.99 | 78 78% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $23,377) | greenteagame1 | |
| | Flatinside Simulator | · EA | $9.99 | 64 64% | 1.9k | $19k (exactly $19,181) | SncI Studios |
| | UnderGirl: Submission Path | $7.99 | 72 73% | 2.2k | $17k (exactly $17,258) | KadoDev |
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.