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Should I ship a Dog Life Sim?
Life Sim + Dogs
Of 34 developers who shipped a Dog Life 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.. 53 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×8.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $630k, ×1338 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 53 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $600 (exactly $600) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) |
| Top 25% | $24k (exactly $23,900) |
| Top 5% | $636k (exactly $635,601) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 79 |
| Announced | 53 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 90% on the market, supply 140% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Building
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Cute, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 7,606 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 6 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + FaithFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + ZombiesFair
Comparable games
Wobbledogs 2022 · $8.3M 
No Place Like Home 2022 · $2.3M 
Animal Shelter 2022 · $2.2M 
STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town 2021 · $1.6M 
STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life 2023 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Wobbledogs | older | $19.99 | 13,770 98% | 413k | $8.3M (exactly $8,257,869) | Animal Uprising |
| | 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 |
| | STORY OF SEASONS: Pioneers of Olive Town | older | $39.99 | 1,357 82% | 41k | $1.6M (exactly $1,627,993) | Marvelous Inc. |
| | STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life | older | $39.99 | 1,199 78% | 36k | $1.4M (exactly $1,438,440) | Marvelous Inc. |
 | Calico | older | $11.99 | 3,238 88% | 97k | $1.2M (exactly $1,164,709) | Peachy Keen 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 | |
 | Big Farm Story | older | $19.99 | 1,172 78% | 35k | $703k (exactly $702,848) | Goodgame Studios |
 | Restore Your Island | $12.99 | 1,631 77% | 49k | $636k (exactly $635,601) | Paiband Game Studio | |
 | Maltese's Fluffy Onsen | $5.99 | 2,727 94% | 82k | $490k (exactly $490,042) | Sinkhole Studio, Moonlab Studio | |
 | Gaucho and the Grassland | $19.99 | 410 96% | 12k | $246k (exactly $245,877) | Epopeia Games | |
 | 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. |
 | Not Monday Cafe | $8.99 | 539 94% | 16k | $145k (exactly $145,368) | Sunny Syrup Studio | |
 | Everdream Village | · EA | $19.99 | 107 69% | 3.2k | $64k (exactly $64,168) | Mooneaters |
 | Furry Company | $5.99 | 133 80% | 4.0k | $24k (exactly $23,900) | Dreamscape Studio | |
 | Stay: Your Forever Pet! | · EA | $12.99 | 61 96% | 1.8k | $24k (exactly $23,772) | Windup Minds |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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