Do I ship it?

Games › Golf › Golf + Simulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Golf Simulation game?

Golf + Simulation

Of 32 developers who shipped a Golf Simulation game 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.. 29 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $630. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 29 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 65% on the market, 29 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Golf + Simulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $24k → $6.6k → $4.5k → $1.8k → $628 → $987 → $3.6k (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Golf + Simulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 25% $24k (exactly $23,990)
Top 5% $320k (exactly $320,122)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 94
Announced 29
Effort 5 / 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 up 65% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Golf
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Golf, Simulation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Sports, Physics, Arcade
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Family Friendly, 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 4,970 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $320k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + PvPFair29 devs · median $1.4k · 34 announced
  2. + AdventureFair18 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  3. + Score AttackFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  4. + PhysicsFair55 devs · median $987 · 59 announced
  5. + ArcadeFair40 devs · median $719 · 46 announced
  6. + 3D PlatformerFair16 devs · median $719 · 16 announced
  7. + PuzzleFair16 devs · median $539 · 17 announced
  8. + Local MultiplayerPoor odds14 devs · median $3.1k · 18 announced
  9. + ExplorationPoor odds14 devs · median $1.0k · 17 announced
  10. + Character CustomizationPoor odds14 devs · median $959 · 26 announced
  11. + Mini GolfPoor odds38 devs · median $958 · 60 announced
  12. + SportsPoor odds67 devs · median $899 · 82 announced

All 18 pairs on the Golf page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Golf With Your Friends 2020 · $23M Golf It! 2023 · $6.7M PGA TOUR 2K25 2025 · $4.5M Perfect Golf 2016 · $920k All-In-One Sports VR 2023 · $420k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Golf With Your Friends older $14.99 50,748 88% 1.5M $23M (exactly $22,821,376) Blacklight Interactive, Team17
Golf It! older $8.99 24,695 90% 741k $6.7M (exactly $6,660,242) Perfuse Entertainment
PGA TOUR 2K25 $39.99 3,791 70% 114k $4.5M (exactly $4,548,063) HB Studios
Perfect Golf older $34.99 876 65% 26k $920k (exactly $919,537) PERFECT PARALLEL
All-In-One Sports VR older $19.99 700 84% 21k $420k (exactly $419,790) Appnori Inc.
Disc Golf Masters · EA $24.99 427 83% 13k $320k (exactly $320,122) Spinoff Games
GolfTopia older $19.99 477 95% 14k $286k (exactly $286,057) MinMax Games Ltd.
Golf Around! older $9.99 823 94% 25k $247k (exactly $246,653) Hough Studio
The Golf Club VR older $9.99 503 68% 15k $151k (exactly $150,749) HB Studios
Mini Golf Arena · EA older $8.99 385 51% 12k $104k (exactly $103,834) Evoluta Studio
Under Par Golf Architect $19.99 158 81% 4.7k $95k (exactly $94,753) Broken Arms Games
Puttler $7.99 244 95% 7.3k $58k (exactly $58,487) Bean Juice Studios
Golden Tee Arcade Classics $29.99 45 86% 1.4k $40k (exactly $40,486) Digital Eclipse
Super 10 Pin $11.99 92 98% 2.8k $33k (exactly $33,092) Modus Interactive
Up to Par $19.99 49 73% 1.5k $29k (exactly $29,385) It's Anecdotal
True Disc Golf $24.99 32 90% 960 $24k (exactly $23,990) Sportsmanlike Games
This Is Golf $4.99 86 94% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,874) SaltySeedGames
An Other Golf Game · EA $6.99 46 86% 1.4k $9.6k (exactly $9,646) waxycaps

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