Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Dogs
Should I ship a Dog Immersive Sim?
Immersive Sim + Dogs
Of 22 developers who shipped a Dog Immersive 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.. 39 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.7k, ×3.1 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $900k, ×603 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 39 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $718 (exactly $718) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.7k (exactly $4,716) |
| Top 25% | $238k (exactly $237,891) |
| Top 5% | $903k (exactly $902,639) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 61 |
| Announced | 39 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 65% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Immersive Sim
- effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
- Dogs
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Immersive Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Life Sim
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Relaxing, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 77% positive over 6,271 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Immersive Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Trading Card GameStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + WesternStrong odds
- + BoxingStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Split ScreenFair
Comparable games
No Place Like Home 2022 · $2.3M 
Animal Shelter 2022 · $2.2M 
Way of the Hunter 2 2026 · EA · $1.6M 
To The Rescue! 2021 · $1.1M 
Animal Shelter 2 2025 · $903k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | No Place Like Home | older | $19.99 | 3,784 78% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,269,265) | Chicken Launcher |
| | Animal Shelter | older | $19.99 | 3,642 87% | 109k | $2.2M (exactly $2,184,107) | Games Incubator |
| | Way of the Hunter 2 | · EA | $34.99 | 1,534 73% | 46k | $1.6M (exactly $1,610,240) | Nine Rocks Games |
| | To The Rescue! | older | $19.99 | 1,865 66% | 56k | $1.1M (exactly $1,118,440) | Little Rock Games, indie.io |
| | Animal Shelter 2 | $24.99 | 1,204 79% | 36k | $903k (exactly $902,639) | Games Incubator | |
 | Restore Your Island | $12.99 | 1,631 77% | 49k | $636k (exactly $635,601) | Paiband Game Studio | |
 | Anthro Heat | $29.99 | 629 92% | 19k | $566k (exactly $565,911) | Blue Lizard Studios | |
 | Above the Snow | $24.99 | 383 75% | 11k | $287k (exactly $287,135) | Above the Desk | |
 | Sunset Hills | older | $17.99 | 451 61% | 14k | $243k (exactly $243,405) | Cotton Game |
 | Exotica 2: Pet Shop Simulator | $14.99 | 529 75% | 16k | $238k (exactly $237,891) | Konrul Game | |
 | Rancher: A new life | · EA | $19.99 | 265 64% | 8.0k | $159k (exactly $158,920) | Sim Farm S.A. |
 | Animal Trainer Simulator | $14.99 | 29 37% | 870 | $13k (exactly $13,041) | Games Incubator | |
 | Animal Simulator | $8.99 | 39 30% | 1.2k | $11k (exactly $10,518) | Imperian Online - Core | |
 | Shop Simulator: Pet Shop | $9.99 | 28 82% | 840 | $8.4k (exactly $8,392) | Three River Games (3RG) |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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