Games › Simulation › Simulation + Dragons
Should I ship a Dragon Simulation game?
Simulation + Dragons
Of 47 developers who shipped a Dragon Simulation 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.. 88 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.5k, ×5.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $630k, ×1005 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 88 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.5k (exactly $3,506) |
| Top 25% | $47k (exactly $47,426) |
| Top 5% | $631k (exactly $631,042) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 47 |
| Released games | 140 |
| Announced | 88 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 down 30% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Dragons
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Management, RPG
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 10,963 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 88 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
Dark and Light 2017 · EA · $5.7M 
Day of Dragons 2019 · EA · $3.8M 
Mind Over Magic 2025 · $3.2M 
Brigandine The Legend of Runersia 2022 · $1.6M 
Knights College 2021 · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dark and Light | · EA older | $17.99 | 10,577 51% | 317k | $5.7M (exactly $5,708,407) | Snail Games USA |
| | Day of Dragons | · EA older | $19.99 | 6,278 68% | 188k | $3.8M (exactly $3,764,917) | Beawesome Games |
| | Mind Over Magic | $24.99 | 4,314 86% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,234,206) | Sparkypants | |
| | Brigandine The Legend of Runersia | older | $39.99 | 1,331 85% | 40k | $1.6M (exactly $1,596,801) | Happinet, Matrix |
| | Knights College | older | $24.99 | 2,088 96% | 63k | $1.6M (exactly $1,565,374) | KAIJYU-09 |
 | Drag'n Wash | $14.99 | 2,880 96% | 86k | $1.3M (exactly $1,295,136) | Gator Dragon Games | |
 | Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy | $39.99 | 526 90% | 16k | $631k (exactly $631,042) | Microids Studio Paris | |
 | Anthro Heat | $29.99 | 629 92% | 19k | $566k (exactly $565,911) | Blue Lizard Studios | |
 | FlowScape | older | $14.99 | 1,230 84% | 37k | $553k (exactly $553,131) | Pixel Forest Games |
 | Golden Treasure: The Great Green | older | $19.99 | 909 95% | 27k | $545k (exactly $545,127) | Dreaming Door Studios |
 | Huaxia: Warring States | · EA | $19.99 | 701 61% | 21k | $420k (exactly $420,390) | 秦川汉渚 |
 | BRIGANDINE ABYSS | $49.99 | 248 35% | 7.4k | $372k (exactly $371,926) | Adglobe | |
 | Mamon King | $12.99 | 603 90% | 18k | $235k (exactly $234,989) | LiTMUS Co., Ltd. | |
 | Dragon Song Tavern: Cozy & Adventurous | $19.90 | 274 71% | 8.2k | $164k (exactly $163,578) | Etherous Games Limited | |
 | Loot Tycoon | · EA | $6.99 | 544 71% | 16k | $114k (exactly $114,077) | Parallel Portal |
 | Excidio The Kaiju Simulator | $12.99 | 244 92% | 7.3k | $95k (exactly $95,087) | TokuPop |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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