Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Political Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Political Sim Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Political Sim

Of 40 developers who shipped a Political 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.. 80 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $960, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240. 80 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper, while revenue is up 365% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 365% on the market, 80 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Political Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $148 → $959 → $599 → $3.6k (still earning) → $390 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Political Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $20,693)
Top 5% $757k (exactly $757,042)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 84
Announced 80
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 365% on the market, supply 165% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Political 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, Political Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,007 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $960, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $750k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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

Eco 2018 · EA · $10M MEMORIAPOLIS 2025 · $1.7M Politics The Game 2025 · $757k Imagine Earth 2021 · $607k Floodland 2022 · $552k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Eco · EA older $29.99 11,375 80% 341k $10M (exactly $10,234,088) Strange Loop Games
MEMORIAPOLIS $32.00 1,752 75% 53k $1.7M (exactly $1,681,920) 5PM Studio
Politics The Game $9.99 2,526 95% 76k $757k (exactly $757,042) Simplicity Games
Imagine Earth older $24.99 810 79% 24k $607k (exactly $607,257) Serious Bros.
Floodland older $19.99 921 54% 28k $552k (exactly $552,324) Vile Monarch
The Darkest Files $19.99 668 95% 20k $401k (exactly $400,600) Paintbucket Games
JudgeSim older $6.99 1,376 84% 41k $289k (exactly $288,547) DelusionArt Studio
Pompeii: The Legacy $19.99 266 80% 8.0k $160k (exactly $159,520) Siscia Games
Monarch : Medieval Remastered $11.99 365 80% 11k $131k (exactly $131,290) Mr.Lordy
Booth: A Dystopian Adventure older $9.99 354 88% 11k $106k (exactly $106,094) Guanpeng Chen
Life Inc. · EA $19.99 154 88% 4.6k $92k (exactly $92,354) Sergio Garcia
Global Protocol: New World Order · EA $19.99 85 71% 2.6k $51k (exactly $50,974) Dorlion Interactive
Lunar Ascendant $14.99 86 44% 2.6k $39k (exactly $38,674) Darts Games
Magic Forge Tycoon $11.99 82 69% 2.5k $29k (exactly $29,495) Clever Trickster Studio, Clever Trickst… (Clever Trickster Studio, Clever Trickster Productions)
The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410 · EA $29.99 23 60% 690 $21k (exactly $20,693) Ashborne Games

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