Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Physics
Should I ship a Physics Immersive Sim?
Immersive Sim + Physics
Of 407 developers who shipped a Physics 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.. 622 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×1138 the market median. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 622 games are announced against 242 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $748 (exactly $748) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.4k (exactly $3,358) |
| Top 25% | $44k (exactly $44,071) |
| Top 5% | $1.7M (exactly $1,704,094) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 407 |
| Released games | 979 |
| Announced | 622 |
| 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 65% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Physics
- effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Immersive Sim, Physics; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Sandbox, Exploration
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 167,749 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $750. 7 in 10 of the 209 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 622 games are announced against 242 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Immersive Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Trading Card GameStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + WesternStrong odds
- + BoxingStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + RomanceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Split ScreenFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Bodycam | · EA older | $33.32 | 60,179 80% | 1.8M | $60M (exactly $60,154,928) | Reissad Studio |
| | Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 | $69.99 | 21,633 59% | 649k | $45M (exactly $45,422,810) | Asobo Studio | |
| | SnowRunner | older | $29.99 | 46,343 90% | 1.4M | $42M (exactly $41,694,797) | Saber Interactive |
| | Stormworks: Build and Rescue | older | $24.99 | 54,649 90% | 1.6M | $41M (exactly $40,970,355) | Geometa |
| | MX Bikes | · EA older | $34.99 | 35,684 94% | 1.1M | $37M (exactly $37,457,495) | PiBoSo |
| | Farming Simulator 25 | $29.99 | 39,681 87% | 1.2M | $36M (exactly $35,700,996) | GIANTS Software | |
| | Forza Motorsport | older | $69.99 | 12,148 51% | 364k | $26M (exactly $25,507,156) | Turn 10 |
| | Universe Sandbox | · EA older | $29.99 | 27,843 96% | 835k | $25M (exactly $25,050,347) | Giant Army |
| | Contraband Police | older | $29.99 | 24,882 95% | 746k | $22M (exactly $22,386,335) | Crazy Rocks |
| | Big Walk | $19.99 | 32,470 95% | 974k | $19M (exactly $19,472,259) | House House | |
| | RoadCraft | $39.99 | 13,527 74% | 406k | $16M (exactly $16,228,342) | Saber Interactive | |
| | The Last Caretaker | · EA | $34.99 | 13,178 86% | 395k | $14M (exactly $13,832,947) | Channel37 Ltd |
| | IRON NEST: Heavy Turret Simulator | $19.99 | 13,278 97% | 398k | $8.0M (exactly $7,962,817) | Nick Nieuwoudt, Dominik Latos | |
| | Assetto Corsa Rally | · EA | $29.99 | 8,757 87% | 263k | $7.9M (exactly $7,878,673) | Supernova Games Studios |
| | SimRail - The Railway Simulator | $34.99 | 5,307 85% | 159k | $5.6M (exactly $5,570,758) | SimRail S.A. | |
| | Waterpark Simulator | $12.99 | 13,280 96% | 398k | $5.2M (exactly $5,175,216) | CayPlay | |
| | Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game | $24.99 | 6,638 94% | 199k | $5.0M (exactly $4,976,509) | MLMEDIA |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.