Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Farming
Should I ship a Farming Life Sim?
Life Sim + Farming
Of 34 developers who shipped a Farming Life 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.. 46 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 $26k, ×55 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $6.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $13M, ×28202 the market median. Revenue is up 155% on the market; 46 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $5.9k (exactly $5,920) |
|---|---|
| Median | $26k (exactly $26,083) |
| Top 25% | $70k (exactly $69,704) |
| Top 5% | $13M (exactly $13,395,985) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 34 |
| Released games | 74 |
| Announced | 46 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 155% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Building, Farming Sim
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 67,261 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $6.0k. 6 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + FaithFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + ZombiesFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dinkum | $19.99 | 24,641 92% | 739k | $15M (exactly $14,777,208) | James Bendon | |
| | Fields of Mistria | $13.99 | 31,918 96% | 958k | $13M (exactly $13,395,985) | NPC Studio | |
| | STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town | older | $39.99 | 5,268 93% | 158k | $6.3M (exactly $6,320,020) | Marvelous Inc. |
| | HARVESTELLA | older | $59.99 | 2,071 77% | 62k | $3.7M (exactly $3,727,179) | Square Enix |
| | Rusty's Retirement | older | $6.99 | 13,902 96% | 417k | $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) | Mister Morris Games |
| | DORAEMON STORY OF SEASONS | older | $49.99 | 1,845 81% | 55k | $2.8M (exactly $2,766,946) | Marvelous Inc., Brownies Inc. |
| | Kynseed | older | $24.99 | 3,513 83% | 105k | $2.6M (exactly $2,633,696) | PixelCount Studios |
| | Go-Go Town! | $27.99 | 2,476 93% | 74k | $2.1M (exactly $2,079,097) | Prideful Sloth | |
| | Mirthwood | $24.99 | 2,242 69% | 67k | $1.7M (exactly $1,680,827) | Bad Ridge Games | |
| | STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life | older | $39.99 | 1,199 78% | 36k | $1.4M (exactly $1,438,440) | Marvelous Inc. |
| | Old Market Simulator | $9.99 | 4,333 87% | 130k | $1.3M (exactly $1,298,600) | Alcedo Games | |
| | Zombie Graveyard Simulator | $14.99 | 805 89% | 24k | $362k (exactly $362,008) | threeW | |
| | Medieval Horse Dealer Simulator | $17.99 | 193 89% | 5.8k | $104k (exactly $104,162) | One Slice of Pizza Games | |
| | Hydroponics Farm & Store Simulator | $9.99 | 298 80% | 8.9k | $89k (exactly $89,311) | Bewolba Studios | |
| | Ancient Farm | $14.99 | 155 55% | 4.7k | $70k (exactly $69,704) | A2 Softworks | |
| | Chill Town | $9.99 | 200 68% | 6.0k | $60k (exactly $59,940) | Low-Hi Tech |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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