Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Futuristic
Should I ship a Futuristic Life Sim?
Life Sim + Futuristic
Of 41 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 71 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 $2.3k, ×4.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $290k, ×631 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 71 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,274) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $17,094) |
| Top 5% | $300k (exactly $299,600) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 88 |
| Announced | 71 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Life Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Futuristic
- 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
- Life Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 3,475 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 7 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 71 games are announced against 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | I Was a Teenage Exocolonist | older | $24.99 | 4,443 96% | 133k | $3.3M (exactly $3,330,917) | Northway Games |
| | Farlands | $17.99 | 1,628 89% | 49k | $879k (exactly $878,632) | JanduSoft, Eric Rodríguez | |
| | Hookah Haze | older | $17.99 | 1,288 92% | 39k | $695k (exactly $695,134) | ACQUIRE Corp. |
| | Subside | $24.99 | 513 96% | 15k | $385k (exactly $384,596) | A2D Software | |
| | Mech Mechanic Simulator | older | $19.99 | 538 61% | 16k | $323k (exactly $322,639) | Polyslash |
| | Cook Serve Forever | $29.99 | 333 69% | 10k | $300k (exactly $299,600) | Vertigo Gaming Inc. | |
| | GolfTopia | older | $19.99 | 477 95% | 14k | $286k (exactly $286,057) | MinMax Games Ltd. |
| | Last Hope | older | $19.99 | 260 93% | 7.8k | $156k (exactly $155,922) | Poolside games |
| | Galaxy Princess Zorana | $24.99 | 154 88% | 4.6k | $115k (exactly $115,454) | Hanako Games | |
| | OnlyFap Simulator 4 💦 | older | $6.99 | 398 59% | 12k | $83k (exactly $83,461) | BanzaiProject |
| | Lust Theory Season 3 | $14.99 | 146 60% | 4.4k | $66k (exactly $65,656) | Inceton Games | |
| | Alien Market Simulator | $12.99 | 124 83% | 3.7k | $48k (exactly $48,323) | Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainme… (Silly Sloth Studios, Kheddo Entertainment) | |
| | Chaos Express: Delivery Simulator | · EA | $13.37 | 116 77% | 3.5k | $47k (exactly $46,528) | AVE Team |
| | Arcane Lust 18+ | $9.99 | 155 68% | 4.7k | $46k (exactly $46,454) | Carnality INC | |
| | LUST Company 👾 | $9.99 | 155 65% | 4.7k | $46k (exactly $46,454) | Taboo Tales 💘 | |
| | SEXSTELLAR | $9.99 | 151 67% | 4.5k | $45k (exactly $45,255) | Carnality INC |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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