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Should I ship a Dynamic Narration Simulation game?
Simulation + Dynamic Narration
Of 92 developers who shipped a Dynamic Narration 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.. 174 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×4.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $380k, ×619 the market median. Revenue is up 120% on the market; 174 games are announced against 70 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $719 (exactly $719) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.6k (exactly $2,637) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $11,242) |
| Top 5% | $389k (exactly $388,990) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 92 |
| Released games | 220 |
| Announced | 174 |
| 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 up 120% on the market, supply 205% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Dynamic Narration
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation, Dynamic Narration; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Choices Matter, Multiple Endings, Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Atmospheric, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 10,586 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 9 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 174 games are announced against 70 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different second tag, 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
while True: learn() 2019 · $2.9M 
Mandate Of Heaven 2025 · $2.4M 
Curious Expedition 2 2021 · $2.3M 
Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter 2023 · $767k 
Citadelum 2024 · $753k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | while True: learn() | older | $12.99 | 7,350 91% | 221k | $2.9M (exactly $2,864,295) | Luden.io |
| | Mandate Of Heaven | $14.99 | 5,446 91% | 163k | $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) | 木焱工作室 | |
| | Curious Expedition 2 | older | $19.99 | 3,861 88% | 116k | $2.3M (exactly $2,315,442) | Maschinen-Mensch |
| | Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter | older | $29.99 | 852 73% | 26k | $767k (exactly $766,544) | Iron Wolf Studio S.A. |
| | Citadelum | $24.99 | 1,005 83% | 30k | $753k (exactly $753,448) | Abylight Barcelona | |
 | All Quiet in the Trenches | · EA older | $24.99 | 921 90% | 28k | $690k (exactly $690,474) | Totally Not Aliens |
 | Ludus Magnatus: Gladiator Manager Simulator | · EA | $24.99 | 612 81% | 18k | $459k (exactly $458,816) | Contec Games |
 | Finnish Army Simulator | · EA older | $29.99 | 500 88% | 15k | $450k (exactly $449,850) | Please Be Patient |
 | Corruption Town | · EA | $14.99 | 992 88% | 30k | $446k (exactly $446,102) | BoredBasmati |
 | Witchy Business | $14.99 | 865 86% | 26k | $389k (exactly $388,990) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
 | Heaven Does Not Respond | $9.99 | 530 90% | 16k | $159k (exactly $158,841) | Rise Studios | |
 | Anomalous Coffee Machine 2 | $6.99 | 753 81% | 23k | $158k (exactly $157,904) | HoruBrain Interactive | |
 | Run from the Cops! | $39.99 | 83 92% | 2.5k | $100k (exactly $99,575) | CAPITAL RUN | |
 | GEL RUN | $39.99 | 83 89% | 2.5k | $100k (exactly $99,575) | Kaloyan Stoyanov | |
 | The Floor Above | $12.99 | 217 88% | 6.5k | $85k (exactly $84,565) | Swytapp Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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