Should I ship a Life Sim FPS?
FPS + Life Sim
Of 88 developers who shipped a Life Sim FPS 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.. 129 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×1.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×713 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 129 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $719 (exactly $719) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) |
| Top 25% | $28k (exactly $27,566) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,067,588) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 88 |
| Released games | 197 |
| Announced | 129 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS, Life Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Management
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 55,117 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 129 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
Car For Sale Simulator 2024 · $10M 
Car Dealer Simulator 2025 · $5.9M 
Ultimate Fishing Simulator® 2018 · $5.0M 
TOGETHER BnB 2021 · EA · $4.9M 
Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator 2026 · $3.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Car For Sale Simulator | $16.99 | 20,229 78% | 607k | $10M (exactly $10,310,721) | Red Axe Games | |
| | Car Dealer Simulator | $19.99 | 9,831 88% | 295k | $5.9M (exactly $5,895,651) | Garage Monkeys | |
| | Ultimate Fishing Simulator® | older | $19.99 | 8,256 89% | 248k | $5.0M (exactly $4,951,123) | Ultimate Games S.A., Bit Golem |
| | TOGETHER BnB | · EA older | $17.99 | 9,025 59% | 271k | $4.9M (exactly $4,870,792) | AURORA Games |
| | Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator | $17.99 | 7,019 83% | 211k | $3.8M (exactly $3,788,154) | Biotech Gameworks | |
 | Crime Simulator | $14.99 | 6,244 82% | 187k | $2.8M (exactly $2,807,927) | CookieDev | |
 | Weed Shop 3 | older | $19.99 | 3,956 93% | 119k | $2.4M (exactly $2,372,413) | Weed Games |
 | ANEURISM IV | $9.99 | 5,686 75% | 171k | $1.7M (exactly $1,704,094) | Vellocet | |
 | Car Dealership Simulator 2 | · EA | $14.99 | 2,374 69% | 71k | $1.1M (exactly $1,067,588) | Quadfix Games |
 | Gym Simulator 24 | older | $12.99 | 2,531 84% | 76k | $986k (exactly $986,331) | Red Axe Games |
 | Football Life Simulator | · EA | $19.99 | 1,567 68% | 47k | $940k (exactly $939,730) | Ludu Arts |
 | Zombie Graveyard Simulator | $14.99 | 805 89% | 24k | $362k (exactly $362,008) | threeW | |
 | Storage Dealer Simulator | $13.99 | 789 61% | 24k | $331k (exactly $331,143) | Quadfix Games | |
 | Cinema Simulator 2025 | · EA | $11.99 | 573 76% | 17k | $206k (exactly $206,108) | HOGO Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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