Games › Simulation › Simulation + Idler
Should I ship an Idler Simulation game?
Simulation + Idler
Of 1,198 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 1,519 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 1,519 games are announced against 873 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $9.3k (exactly $9,281) |
| Top 5% | $174k (exactly $173,590) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 1,198 |
| Released games | 2,241 |
| Announced | 1,519 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 145% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Simulation
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Idler
- effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Simulation, Idler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Incremental, Management, Strategy
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $8.30 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $8.30 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 80,635 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 448 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,519 games are announced against 873 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Simulation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Escape RoomStrong odds
- + World War IFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + PinballFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + BirdsFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + MusicFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + ProgrammingFair
Comparable games
WorldBox - God Simulator 2021 · EA · $31M 
Cookie Clicker 2021 · $13M 
Cast n Chill 2025 · $3.8M 
Farm Together 2 2025 · $3.5M 
Scritchy Scratchy 2026 · $3.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | WorldBox - God Simulator | · EA older | $19.99 | 51,071 95% | 1.5M | $31M (exactly $30,627,279) | Maxim Karpenko |
| | Cookie Clicker | older | $4.99 | 87,916 96% | 2.6M | $13M (exactly $13,161,025) | Orteil, DashNet |
| | Cast n Chill | $14.99 | 8,383 94% | 251k | $3.8M (exactly $3,769,835) | Wombat Brawler | |
| | Farm Together 2 | $25.99 | 4,456 93% | 134k | $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) | Milkstone Studios | |
| | Scritchy Scratchy | $6.99 | 15,245 94% | 457k | $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) | Lunch Money Games | |
 | Rusty's Retirement | older | $6.99 | 13,902 96% | 417k | $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) | Mister Morris Games |
 | The Farmer Was Replaced | $9.99 | 9,116 95% | 273k | $2.7M (exactly $2,732,065) | Timon Herzog | |
 | Shelldiver | $4.99 | 16,806 98% | 504k | $2.5M (exactly $2,515,858) | Gagonfe | |
 | Dragon Cliff | older | $9.99 | 7,679 88% | 230k | $2.3M (exactly $2,301,396) | Meta Interaction |
 | Lessaria: Fantasy Kingdom Sim | $24.90 | 2,938 77% | 88k | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,686) | Rockbee Team | |
 | Bills Must Be Paid | $6.99 | 9,928 96% | 298k | $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) | Rike Games | |
 | Tiny Pasture | $5.99 | 7,055 92% | 212k | $1.3M (exactly $1,267,784) | CaveLiquid | |
 | Sir, We Have an Orc Problem | $9.99 | 4,123 86% | 124k | $1.2M (exactly $1,235,663) | Mumpitz Games | |
 | Multiverse Loot Hunter | $11.99 | 2,585 80% | 78k | $930k (exactly $929,824) | 游戏养家工作室 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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