Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Life Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Life Sim Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Life Sim

Of 767 developers who shipped a Life Sim 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.. 1,161 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.9k, ×4.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×713 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 1,161 games are announced against 473 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 50% on the market, 1,161 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Life Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 767
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.9k → $6.0k → $4.8k → $7.8k → $12k → $7.8k → $7.6k (still earning) → $4.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Life Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 767
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,313)
Median $6.9k (exactly $6,886)
Top 25% $56k (exactly $55,744)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,067,588)
Developers, 2 yr 767
Released games 1,683
Announced 1,161
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 50% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, Life Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.69 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.69 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 262,557 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 $6.9k, 1 in 4 over $55k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 6 in 10 of the 429 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,161 games are announced against 473 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

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

Supermarket Simulator 2025 · $48M inZOI 2025 · EA · $36M TCG Card Shop Simulator 2026 · $28M Disney Dreamlight Valley 2023 · $26M PC Building Simulator 2019 · $25M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Supermarket Simulator $19.99 79,236 92% 2.4M $48M (exactly $47,517,829) Nokta Games
inZOI · EA $39.99 30,020 77% 901k $36M (exactly $36,014,994) inZOI Studio
TCG Card Shop Simulator $19.99 47,357 96% 1.4M $28M (exactly $28,399,993) OPNeon Games
Disney Dreamlight Valley older $39.99 22,027 92% 661k $26M (exactly $26,425,792) Gameloft
PC Building Simulator older $19.99 42,153 93% 1.3M $25M (exactly $25,279,154) Claudiu Kiss, The Irregular Corporation
Paralives · EA $39.99 20,123 89% 604k $24M (exactly $24,141,563) Alex Massé and team
Hello Kitty Island Adventure $39.99 9,637 93% 289k $12M (exactly $11,561,509) Sunblink
Big Ambitions $25.99 14,003 92% 420k $11M (exactly $10,918,139) Hovgaard Games
House Party older $24.99 13,968 85% 419k $10M (exactly $10,471,810) Eek! Games, LLC
WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition $29.99 11,511 97% 345k $10M (exactly $10,356,447) eduweb
Car For Sale Simulator $16.99 20,229 78% 607k $10M (exactly $10,310,721) Red Axe Games
My Winter Car · EA $14.99 18,614 94% 558k $8.4M (exactly $8,370,716) Amistech Games
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check $19.99 11,827 81% 355k $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) Brigada Games

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