Do I ship it?

Games › Economy › Economy + Farming Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Farming Sim Economy game?

Economy + Farming Sim

Of 137 developers who shipped a Farming Sim Economy 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.. 210 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $520k, ×838 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 210 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 210 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Farming Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 137
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $28k → $5.7k → $26k → $11k → $9.4k → $1.5k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Farming Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 137
Bottom 30% $718 (exactly $718)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $35k (exactly $35,439)
Top 5% $527k (exactly $526,573)
Developers, 2 yr 137
Released games 277
Announced 210
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 65% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Economy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Farming Sim
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
Economy, Farming Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Resource Management
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.50 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.50 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 66,892 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $520k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 61 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 210 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Economy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorFair116 devs · median $22k · 125 announced
  2. + Football (Soccer)Fair21 devs · median $6.8k · 29 announced
  3. + ScienceFair39 devs · median $5.9k · 39 announced
  4. + MiningFair116 devs · median $5.0k · 173 announced
  5. + LootFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  6. + CollectathonFair125 devs · median $3.8k · 151 announced
  7. + God GameFair47 devs · median $2.8k · 58 announced
  8. + Auto BattlerFair59 devs · median $2.4k · 79 announced
  9. + IdlerFair441 devs · median $2.3k · 589 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair408 devs · median $2.2k · 612 announced
  11. + ArcadeFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  12. + Strategy RPGFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced

All 161 pairs on the Economy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Farming Simulator 22 2021 · $42M Farming Simulator 25 2024 · $36M Farming Simulator 19 2018 · $35M Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm 2023 · $31M Farming Simulator 17 2016 · $10M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Farming Simulator 22 older $19.99 69,477 93% 2.1M $42M (exactly $41,665,357) GIANTS Software
Farming Simulator 25 $29.99 39,681 87% 1.2M $36M (exactly $35,700,996) GIANTS Software
Farming Simulator 19 older $17.99 64,621 94% 1.9M $35M (exactly $34,875,954) GIANTS Software
Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm older $24.99 40,862 79% 1.2M $31M (exactly $30,634,241) Toxic Dog
Farming Simulator 17 older $14.99 23,063 93% 692k $10M (exactly $10,371,431) GIANTS Software
Farming Simulator 15 older $12.99 13,306 92% 399k $5.2M (exactly $5,185,348) GIANTS Software
Ostriv · EA older $24.99 6,866 94% 206k $5.1M (exactly $5,147,440) yevhen8
Farm Together 2 $25.99 4,456 93% 134k $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) Milkstone Studios
Flotsam $24.99 4,308 80% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,229,708) Pajama Llama Games
Rusty's Retirement older $6.99 13,902 96% 417k $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) Mister Morris Games
The Farmer Was Replaced $9.99 9,116 95% 273k $2.7M (exactly $2,732,065) Timon Herzog
Mirthwood $24.99 2,242 69% 67k $1.7M (exactly $1,680,827) Bad Ridge Games
Tiny Aquarium: Social Fishkeeping $7.49 3,386 95% 102k $761k (exactly $760,834) Lunheim Studios
Gnomes $9.99 1,757 94% 53k $527k (exactly $526,573) DYSTOPIAN
Industry Giant 4.0 $24.99 506 33% 15k $379k (exactly $379,348) Don VS Dodo
Farm Manager World $19.99 605 68% 18k $363k (exactly $362,818) Cleversan Games
Farming & Supermarket Simulator $11.99 835 79% 25k $300k (exactly $300,350) EY08 Games

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