Do I ship it?

GamesPvEPvE + Farming Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Farming Sim?

PvE + Farming Sim

Of 25 developers who shipped a PvE Farming 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.. 78 more are announced, ×5.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $94k, ×150 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 78 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 78 announced, ×5.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Farming Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $3.1k → $2.4k → $7.2k → $27k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + Farming Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,468)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 5% $94k (exactly $94,481)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 55
Announced 78
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 10% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
PvE, Farming Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cartoony, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 779 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $94k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Atomicrops older $14.99 5,134 93% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,308,760) Bird Bath Games
Reactor Tech² older $14.99 353 68% 11k $159k (exactly $158,744) 4Co
Weed Shop 4: Highland · EA $19.99 205 52% 6.2k $123k (exactly $122,938) Weed Games
Farmagia $49.99 63 46% 1.9k $94k (exactly $94,481) Marvelous Inc.
Descending The Woods · EA older $18.99 111 47% 3.3k $63k (exactly $63,237) AIONWARE LTD
Game of Grass $6.99 275 84% 8.3k $58k (exactly $57,668) Hipsterdufus
Santhai older $12.99 137 89% 4.1k $53k (exactly $53,389) Hardworker Studio, Rachan Neamprasert
Slice the Crops! $5.49 163 80% 4.9k $27k (exactly $26,846) Wobblers Games
Chang'an: The capital of Tang Dynasty older $9.99 58 70% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,383) Romulus
Tutien Path $14.99 16 81% 480 $7.2k (exactly $7,195) Truong Thanh Triet
Constructed · EA $14.99 8 75% 240 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) Gaming Project
CRIXUS: Life of free Gladiator $7.99 15 46% 450 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Waseku
Ancient Savo $6.99 15 93% 450 $3.1k (exactly $3,146) Erkka Lehmus
Welcome to Elite Cafe $8.99 11 100% 330 $3.0k (exactly $2,967) さめGames
VeilWood $9.99 8 87% 240 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) Chaos Cabin

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