Do I ship it?

Games › Management › Management + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Management game?

Management + Dystopian

Of 71 developers who shipped a Dystopian Management 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.. 156 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×579 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 156 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.8 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 156 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 71
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $47k → $14k → $4.1M → $101k → $298 → $1.4k → $899 (still earning) → $959 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 71
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,134)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,820)
Top 5% $364k (exactly $363,625)
Developers, 2 yr 71
Released games 134
Announced 156
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 flat on the market, supply 155% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Choices Matter
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 12,242 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 5 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 156 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M Not For Broadcast 2022 · $7.7M Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2018 · $5.0M Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance 2024 · $4.1M Beholder: Conductor 2025 · $1.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
Not For Broadcast older $24.99 10,337 94% 310k $7.7M (exactly $7,749,649) NotGames
Do Not Feed the Monkeys older $15.99 10,376 93% 311k $5.0M (exactly $4,977,367) Fictiorama Studios
Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance older $39.99 3,395 82% 102k $4.1M (exactly $4,072,982) Slitherine Ltd.
Beholder: Conductor $13.99 4,532 91% 136k $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080) Alawar
Beholder 3 older $17.99 2,275 63% 68k $1.2M (exactly $1,227,818) Paintbucket Games
Happy's Humble Burger Farm older $19.99 1,704 93% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,021,889) Scythe Dev Team
Obenseuer · EA older $19.99 1,684 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) Loiste Interactive
No Umbrellas Allowed older $19.99 1,394 80% 42k $836k (exactly $835,982) Hoochoo Game Studios
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations
Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop $19.99 1,108 84% 33k $664k (exactly $664,468) Beard Envy
FACEMINER $7.99 1,517 90% 46k $364k (exactly $363,625) Wristwork
Crisis in the Kremlin: The Cold War $7.99 698 80% 21k $167k (exactly $167,311) Nostalgames
Extinction Day $19.99 206 74% 6.2k $124k (exactly $123,538) DryGin Studios
Execute $5.99 679 91% 20k $122k (exactly $122,016) Payne Robinson
Fill Up The Hole $2.99 1,165 90% 35k $105k (exactly $104,501) Fluffy Lotus
The Last FARMER $12.99 258 56% 7.7k $101k (exactly $100,543) Geekon
Technotopia $4.99 599 86% 18k $90k (exactly $89,670) Yustas

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.