Do I ship it?

GamesImmersive SimImmersive Sim + Mars

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mars Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Mars

Only 9 developers shipped a Mars Immersive Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Surviving Mars: Relaunched, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×3.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $2.6M, ×1764 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 22 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 22 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Mars
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $16k → $58k → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Mars: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $5.4k (exactly $5,396)
Top 25% $52k (exactly $52,479)
Top 5% $2.6M (exactly $2,641,739)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 25
Announced 22
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 down 100% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Mars
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 5,749 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $5.4k, 1 in 4 over $52k, 1 in 20 over $2.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 22 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Surviving Mars: Relaunched $39.99 2,202 55% 66k $2.6M (exactly $2,641,739) Haemimont Games
Mars Horizon older $19.99 2,757 84% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,653,373) Auroch Digital
Rover Mechanic Simulator older $11.99 376 82% 11k $135k (exactly $135,247) ▲ Pyramid Games
Space Mechanic Simulator older $19.99 115 60% 3.5k $69k (exactly $68,966) Atomic Jelly
Surviving Mars: Pioneer $24.99 78 83% 2.3k $58k (exactly $58,477) Bolverk Games
Mars Vice $24.99 70 97% 2.1k $52k (exactly $52,479) Rho Labyrinths GmbH
SpaceCorp: 2025-2300AD $9.99 73 83% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,878) Logix Interactive
Above Earth · EA older $17.99 39 71% 1.2k $21k (exactly $21,048) Steven Eric Boyette
Quriocity older $19.99 26 65% 780 $16k (exactly $15,592) Oxeliz Pvt ltd
Outer Space Shack older $24.99 13 38% 390 $9.7k (exactly $9,746) Open Lowcode SAS
Life on Mars (MiZtyl) $14.99 12 33% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) MiZtyl
the epic and amazing adventure of gleepglorrpgilliandoohiggintilliousMMDCCXXXIX the adventure where gleepglorrpgilliandoohiggintilliousMMDCCXXXIX lives and becomes king gleepglorrpgilliandoohiggintilliousMMDCCXXXIX $0.99 17 100% 510 $505 (exactly $505) Hydyhude
Home Domes $0.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) GivenKittens Games
Funorbit · EA $5.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Aeroenix
PlanetMars3D: Spirit Mission $3.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) 4AI Limited

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