Do I ship it?

GamesPolitical SimPolitical Sim + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Political Sim?

Political Sim + Futuristic

Only 16 developers shipped a Futuristic Political Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Solar Nations 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 27 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $15k, ×32 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×577 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 27 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 32.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 27 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Political Sim + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $15k → $17k → $60 → $4.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Political Sim + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $15k (exactly $15,295)
Top 25% $52k (exactly $52,148)
Top 5% $274k (exactly $273,867)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 39
Announced 27
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 60% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Political 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
Political Sim
Price point
$7.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 1,835 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $15k, 1 in 4 over $52k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DetectiveFair10 devs · median $9.9k · 15 announced
  2. + Psychological HorrorFair10 devs · median $4.8k · 16 announced
  3. + IdlerFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 14 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $832 · 16 announced
  5. + Board GameFair18 devs · median $600 · 13 announced
  6. + TabletopFair12 devs · median $600 · 12 announced
  7. + CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  8. + Sci-fiPoor odds24 devs · median $17k · 33 announced
  9. + 4XPoor odds29 devs · median $12k · 50 announced
  10. + Cold WarPoor odds15 devs · median $9.9k · 23 announced
  11. + BuildingPoor odds37 devs · median $9.6k · 83 announced
  12. + SpacePoor odds14 devs · median $9.6k · 25 announced

All 72 pairs on the Political Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mind Scanners older $16.99 1,095 78% 33k $558k (exactly $558,122) The Outer Zone
Base One older $24.99 458 36% 14k $343k (exactly $343,363) PixFroze
Solar Nations 2 · EA $14.99 609 85% 18k $274k (exactly $273,867) Flomgus Games
Galaxy Princess Zorana $24.99 154 88% 4.6k $115k (exactly $115,454) Hanako Games
Technotopia $4.99 599 86% 18k $90k (exactly $89,670) Yustas
Emperor of the Fading Suns Enhanced $9.99 174 95% 5.2k $52k (exactly $52,148) Holistic Design, Inc.
Lunar Ascendant $14.99 86 44% 2.6k $39k (exactly $38,674) Darts Games
Rise of Atom $19.99 29 79% 870 $17k (exactly $17,391) Glass Bubble Software
Dissent on Mars $29.99 19 47% 570 $17k (exactly $17,094) Michael Hicks, Gonçalo Antunes
Globalism · EA $29.99 17 52% 510 $15k (exactly $15,295) igelanium games
Носковраздор $0.99 136 51% 4.1k $4.0k (exactly $4,039) BMBK Games
MEGACITY · EA $9.99 12 83% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Luke Wood

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