Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Idler

Of 126 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 123 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×0.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $270. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 123 games are announced against 80 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 123 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 126
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.9k → $47k → $2.4k → $1.8k → $713 → $1.9k → $1.2k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 126
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $9.4k (exactly $9,352)
Top 5% $110k (exactly $110,345)
Developers, 2 yr 126
Released games 279
Announced 123
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 20% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, Idler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Management
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Atmospheric, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 17,993 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $9.3k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 64 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 123 games are announced against 80 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different second tag, 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

Chill with You : Lo-Fi Story 2025 · $4.4M Placid Plastic Duck Simulator 2022 · $1.1M Vanity Fair: The Pursuit 2024 · $842k Chill Pulse 2024 · $691k Hotel Galactic 2025 · EA · $624k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chill with You : Lo-Fi Story $11.99 12,215 98% 366k $4.4M (exactly $4,393,736) Nestopi Inc.
Placid Plastic Duck Simulator older $1.99 17,846 97% 535k $1.1M (exactly $1,065,406) turbolento games
Vanity Fair: The Pursuit older $6.99 4,014 87% 120k $842k (exactly $841,736) 木焱工作室
Chill Pulse older $4.99 4,619 95% 139k $691k (exactly $691,464) Catos Game
Hotel Galactic · EA $34.99 594 73% 18k $624k (exactly $623,522) EndGameLoop Games
Aquarist older $15.99 950 81% 29k $456k (exactly $455,715) FreeMind S.A.
Fish Game older $24.99 589 93% 18k $442k (exactly $441,573) A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink… (A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink Games)
FACEMINER $7.99 1,517 90% 46k $364k (exactly $363,625) Wristwork
Asbury Pines · EA $12.99 558 90% 17k $217k (exactly $217,453) Chaystar Unlimited LLC
Stone Simulator – Just Be a Rock $3.99 1,532 94% 46k $183k (exactly $183,380) STFGames
I'm on Observation Duty 7 $11.99 426 93% 13k $153k (exactly $153,232) Notovia, Dreamloop Games
Real VR Fishing $19.99 184 73% 5.5k $110k (exactly $110,345) Devs United Games, Inc
Smash Hit Museum $6.99 507 85% 15k $106k (exactly $106,318) InIt Games
Lust Sisters 🔞 $14.99 215 67% 6.5k $97k (exactly $96,686) Carnality INC
Memory of Memorie : A Chill Story $11.99 245 98% 7.4k $88k (exactly $88,126) BeXide Inc.

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