Games › Economy › Economy + Visual Novel
Should I ship a Visual Novel Economy game?
Economy + Visual Novel
Of 26 developers who shipped a Visual Novel 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.. 54 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $11k, ×18 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $400; 1 in 20 cleared $300k, ×490 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 54 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $395 (exactly $395) |
|---|---|
| Median | $11k (exactly $11,394) |
| Top 25% | $29k (exactly $28,519) |
| Top 5% | $308k (exactly $307,646) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 70 |
| Announced | 54 |
| 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 85% on the market, supply 90% 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.
- Economy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Visual Novel
- effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy, Visual Novel; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Story Rich, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,703 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $400. 5 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Idol Manager 2021 · $2.3M 
STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator 2023 · EA · $936k 
Max Gentlemen Sexy Business! 2020 · $895k 
Maid Cafe on Electric Street 2024 · $339k 
Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator 2026 · $308k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Idol Manager | older | $19.99 | 3,777 87% | 113k | $2.3M (exactly $2,265,067) | Glitch Pitch |
| | STONKS-9800: Stock Market Simulator | · EA older | $9.99 | 3,124 95% | 94k | $936k (exactly $936,263) | TERNOX |
| | Max Gentlemen Sexy Business! | older | $19.99 | 1,492 92% | 45k | $895k (exactly $894,752) | The Men Who Wear Many Hats |
| | Maid Cafe on Electric Street | $18.99 | 595 82% | 18k | $339k (exactly $338,972) | Adventurer's Tavern | |
| | Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator | $19.99 | 513 91% | 15k | $308k (exactly $307,646) | Strange Scaffold | |
 | Kardboard Kings: Card Shop Simulator | older | $19.99 | 325 73% | 9.8k | $195k (exactly $194,902) | Henry's House, Oscar Brittain, Rob Gross |
 | WORLD END ECONOMiCA episode.01 | older | $12.99 | 458 86% | 14k | $178k (exactly $178,483) | Spicy Tails |
 | The Succession of Changing Kings | $9.99 | 487 86% | 15k | $146k (exactly $145,954) | KwaKwaGames | |
 | How a Retired Strategist Saved the Country | older | $13.99 | 246 90% | 7.4k | $103k (exactly $103,246) | tomadan |
 | 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 | |
 | Egg Squeeze | $3.99 | 374 98% | 11k | $45k (exactly $44,768) | MATTER GAMES | |
 | Lunar Ascendant | $14.99 | 86 44% | 2.6k | $39k (exactly $38,674) | Darts Games | |
 | COWGIRL SEX FARM | $6.99 | 136 72% | 4.1k | $29k (exactly $28,519) | Cutie Booty | |
 | Brothel Tycoon | $7.99 | 112 70% | 3.4k | $27k (exactly $26,846) | DMA Games | |
 | Voyeur Villa - Harem Manager | $19.99 | 44 75% | 1.3k | $26k (exactly $26,387) | Sexy Hentai Games Factory | |
 | PurrPlate | $9.99 | 64 68% | 1.9k | $19k (exactly $19,181) | LeankomGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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