Do I ship it?

GamesEconomyEconomy + Romance

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Romance Economy game?

Economy + Romance

Only 15 developers shipped a Romance Economy game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Football Life Simulator, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 33 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $12k, ×19 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $930k, ×1496 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 33 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 19.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 33 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Economy + Romance
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $78k → $37k → $26k → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Economy + Romance: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Median $12k (exactly $12,081)
Top 25% $88k (exactly $87,512)
Top 5% $940k (exactly $939,730)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 45
Announced 33
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 60% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Romance
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Economy; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Choices Matter, Simulation, Time Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 3,144 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.6k, median $12k, 1 in 4 over $87k, 1 in 20 over $930k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.6k. 5 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Economy with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Fabledom older $20.99 6,772 85% 203k $4.3M (exactly $4,264,328) Grenaa Games
Idol Manager older $19.99 3,777 87% 113k $2.3M (exactly $2,265,067) Glitch Pitch
Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition older $14.99 3,579 55% 107k $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) Klabater
Football Life Simulator · EA $19.99 1,567 68% 47k $940k (exactly $939,730) Ludu Arts
Maid Cafe on Electric Street $18.99 595 82% 18k $339k (exactly $338,972) Adventurer's Tavern
Estate Agent Simulator · EA older $15.99 573 67% 17k $275k (exactly $274,868) Kiki Games
Internet Cafe Evolution older $14.99 606 74% 18k $273k (exactly $272,518) Tiny Flame Games
Space Colony: Steam Edition older $14.99 564 78% 17k $254k (exactly $253,631) Firefly Studios
Teller's Duty $11.99 388 72% 12k $140k (exactly $139,564) Hiscory
Training Lucie older $9.99 324 90% 9.7k $97k (exactly $97,103) SecretGame
One Iced Latte With Your Breast Milk, Please! $9.99 292 83% 8.8k $88k (exactly $87,512) azaly, nemuaki
COWGIRL SEX FARM $6.99 136 72% 4.1k $29k (exactly $28,519) Cutie Booty
Voyeur Villa - Harem Manager $19.99 44 75% 1.3k $26k (exactly $26,387) Sexy Hentai Games Factory
猫猫旅行社欢迎你! Momo's Revitalization Project! $24.99 24 91% 720 $18k (exactly $17,993) CyberStep, Inc.
Crypterion $12.99 31 96% 930 $12k (exactly $12,081) Roencia
Brothel Master · EA $9.99 28 64% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) DreamBig Games
Clicker Complex: Vira’s Private Stream $4.99 39 41% 1.2k $5.8k (exactly $5,838) PrincessComplex Games

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