Games › Exploration › Exploration + Political Sim
Should I ship an Exploration Political Sim?
Exploration + Political Sim
Of 21 developers who shipped an Exploration 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.. 48 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×7.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $1.4M, ×3077 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 48 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) |
| Top 25% | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) |
| Top 5% | $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 66 |
| Announced | 48 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 95% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Political Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration, Political Sim; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Base Building, Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 71% positive over 5,460 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 4 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
MEMORIAPOLIS 2025 · $1.7M 
Anno 1404 - History Edition 2020 · $1.6M 
Ascension 2025 · EA · $1.5M 
TheoTown 2019 · $1.4M 
Floodland 2022 · $552k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | MEMORIAPOLIS | $32.00 | 1,752 75% | 53k | $1.7M (exactly $1,681,920) | 5PM Studio | |
| | Anno 1404 - History Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,454 82% | 104k | $1.6M (exactly $1,553,264) | Ubisoft Mainz |
| | Ascension | · EA | $19.99 | 2,437 60% | 73k | $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) | Element Game 微元游戏 |
| | TheoTown | older | $9.99 | 4,631 94% | 139k | $1.4M (exactly $1,387,911) | Lobby Divinus |
| | Floodland | older | $19.99 | 921 54% | 28k | $552k (exactly $552,324) | Vile Monarch |
 | Base One | older | $24.99 | 458 36% | 14k | $343k (exactly $343,363) | PixFroze |
 | NationWar2:Chronicle | $16.99 | 378 78% | 11k | $193k (exactly $192,667) | Yiming | |
 | Astrobuilder | $14.99 | 350 88% | 11k | $157k (exactly $157,395) | wastudio | |
 | Lightracer: For Judge | $9.99 | 462 92% | 14k | $138k (exactly $138,461) | Smartmelon Games | |
 | NationWar:Chronicles | 国战:列国志传 | older | $10.99 | 383 68% | 11k | $126k (exactly $126,275) | Yiming |
 | The Diner at the End of the Galaxy | · EA | $9.99 | 32 59% | 960 | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) | General Interactive Co. |
 | Ascendant Dawn | $15.99 | 13 84% | 390 | $6.2k (exactly $6,236) | Nikous Studio | |
 | The Three Kingdoms of Shadows: Xuzhou | $6.99 | 23 82% | 690 | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) | 鹏砚 | |
 | Macht: Cosmic Engine | · EA | $24.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $3.7k (exactly $3,748) | Kestro Games |
 | EmpireX - Business, Real Estate and Crime Simulator | $14.99 | 8 75% | 240 | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) | darkwolf66 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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