Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 4.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 71 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 41
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $15k → $1.5k → $22k → $32k → $5.4k → $2.7k → $1.3k (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 41
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.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $290k.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds38 devs · median $54k · 21 announced
  2. + MinigamesStrong odds20 devs · median $11k · 19 announced
  3. + MusicStrong odds28 devs · median $9.2k · 20 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair144 devs · median $19k · 153 announced
  5. + Football (Soccer)Fair10 devs · median $10k · 16 announced
  6. + FaithFair11 devs · median $9.4k · 13 announced
  7. + Artificial IntelligenceFair92 devs · median $7.3k · 121 announced
  8. + GamblingFair28 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + DemonsFair16 devs · median $2.4k · 22 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair162 devs · median $2.4k · 219 announced
  11. + LogicFair70 devs · median $1.5k · 74 announced
  12. + ZombiesFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 34 announced

All 173 pairs on the Life Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.