Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Hacking

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hacking Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Hacking

Of 39 developers who shipped a Hacking Immersive 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.. 73 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $7.6k, ×5.1 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $4.0M, ×2703 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 73 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 73 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Hacking
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 39
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $16k → $21k → $5.5k → $142k → $12k → $3.4k (still earning) → $7.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Hacking: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 39
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,347)
Median $7.6k (exactly $7,645)
Top 25% $142k (exactly $141,592)
Top 5% $4.0M (exactly $4,048,575)
Developers, 2 yr 39
Released games 85
Announced 73
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $12.99

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 40% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Immersive Sim
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Hacking
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Puzzle, Action
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 38,588 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.4k, median $7.6k, 1 in 4 over $140k, 1 in 20 over $4.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 6 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Shadows of Doubt 2024 · $11M Internet Cafe Simulator 2 2022 · $7.4M Cyber Manhunt 2021 · $4.4M Streamer Life Simulator 2020 · $4.2M Streamer Life Simulator 2 2026 · $4.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Shadows of Doubt $24.99 14,646 82% 439k $11M (exactly $10,980,106) ColePowered Games
Internet Cafe Simulator 2 older $19.99 12,299 74% 369k $7.4M (exactly $7,375,710) Cheesecake Dev
Cyber Manhunt older $9.99 14,520 92% 436k $4.4M (exactly $4,351,644) Aluba Van+
Streamer Life Simulator older $19.99 7,066 77% 212k $4.2M (exactly $4,237,480) Cheesecake Dev
Streamer Life Simulator 2 $19.99 6,751 81% 203k $4.0M (exactly $4,048,575) Cheesecake Dev
Crime Simulator $14.99 6,244 82% 187k $2.8M (exactly $2,807,927) CookieDev
Peripeteia · EA $24.99 3,120 86% 94k $2.3M (exactly $2,339,064) Ninth Exodus
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator $12.99 5,191 92% 156k $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) Aluba Van+
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy older $9.99 6,303 84% 189k $1.9M (exactly $1,889,009) Streum On Studio
Grey Hack · EA older $19.99 1,801 90% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,080,060) Loading Home
No Players Online $14.99 624 83% 19k $281k (exactly $280,613) Beeswax Games
ServiceIT: You can do IT $12.99 676 56% 20k $263k (exactly $263,437) picture4u
JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator $17.99 378 76% 11k $204k (exactly $204,007) Prof. Scherer
IT Specialist Simulator · EA $13.99 433 74% 13k $182k (exactly $181,730) Pixel Team RED
侦探，请守护我的秘密吧！ $8.99 525 88% 16k $142k (exactly $141,592) 喜瑞互娱工作室

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