Do I ship it?

GamesPolitical SimPolitical Sim + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Political Sim?

Political Sim + Dystopian

Of 33 developers who shipped a Dystopian Political 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.. 59 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $570k, ×1203 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 59 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 59 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Political Sim + Dystopian
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 33
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $17k → $351k → $6.6k → $90k → $1.8k → $1.1k → $4.0k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Political Sim + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 33
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,158)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $21,599)
Top 5% $572k (exactly $571,514)
Developers, 2 yr 33
Released games 88
Announced 59
Effort 4 / 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 up 15% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Political Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Political Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Choices Matter
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 7,753 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $570k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 6 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DetectiveFair10 devs · median $9.9k · 15 announced
  2. + Psychological HorrorFair10 devs · median $4.8k · 16 announced
  3. + IdlerFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 14 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $832 · 16 announced
  5. + Board GameFair18 devs · median $600 · 13 announced
  6. + TabletopFair12 devs · median $600 · 12 announced
  7. + CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  8. + Sci-fiPoor odds24 devs · median $17k · 33 announced
  9. + FuturisticPoor odds16 devs · median $15k · 27 announced
  10. + 4XPoor odds29 devs · median $12k · 50 announced
  11. + Cold WarPoor odds15 devs · median $9.9k · 23 announced
  12. + BuildingPoor odds37 devs · median $9.6k · 83 announced

All 72 pairs on the Political Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Beholder older $13.99 23,199 91% 696k $9.7M (exactly $9,736,620) Alawar Stargaze (Warm Lamp 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
Beholder 2 older $17.99 6,865 87% 206k $3.7M (exactly $3,705,040) Alawar Stargaze (Warm Lamp Games)
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You older $9.99 8,936 90% 268k $2.7M (exactly $2,678,119) Osmotic Studios
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
Shadows of Forbidden Gods older $19.99 1,046 91% 31k $627k (exactly $627,286) Bobby Two Hands
Thank You For Your Application $19.99 953 81% 29k $572k (exactly $571,514) IceLemonTea Studio
Mind Scanners older $16.99 1,095 78% 33k $558k (exactly $558,122) The Outer Zone
Crisis in the Kremlin: The Cold War $7.99 698 80% 21k $167k (exactly $167,311) Nostalgames
Lightracer: For Judge $9.99 462 92% 14k $138k (exactly $138,461) Smartmelon Games
Extinction Day $19.99 206 74% 6.2k $124k (exactly $123,538) DryGin Studios
Technotopia $4.99 599 86% 18k $90k (exactly $89,670) Yustas
Fall of an Empire $29.99 80 67% 2.4k $72k (exactly $71,976) JG Games
What Awaits, Aleksey? $15.99 51 86% 1.5k $24k (exactly $24,465) JKBC
Kiloton $6.99 103 96% 3.1k $22k (exactly $21,599) Jack Morehart
Ministry of Truth: False Memory $6.99 69 85% 2.1k $14k (exactly $14,469) IKKOSAMA, False Memory Dept.

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