Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Psychological

Of 208 developers who shipped a Psychological 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.. 294 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 $2.0k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×103 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 294 games are announced against 111 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 294 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 208
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.6k → $6.1k → $2.1k → $1.6k → $4.7k → $2.4k → $1.8k (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 208
Bottom 30% $480 (exactly $480)
Median $2.0k (exactly $2,035)
Top 25% $9.0k (exactly $8,982)
Top 5% $154k (exactly $153,710)
Developers, 2 yr 208
Released games 407
Announced 294
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 20% on the market, supply as many developers as 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
Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 13,664 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.0k, 1 in 4 over $8.9k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 122 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 294 games are announced against 111 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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

Pathologic 3 2026 · $2.7M KinitoPET 2024 · $2.4M Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis 2026 · $2.0M The Exit 8 2023 · $1.3M The Test 2020 · $1.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Pathologic 3 $34.99 2,528 80% 76k $2.7M (exactly $2,653,642) Ice-Pick Lodge
KinitoPET older $5.99 13,438 92% 403k $2.4M (exactly $2,414,809) troy_en
Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis $16.99 3,974 91% 119k $2.0M (exactly $2,025,548) Alliance Arts, WHO YOU
The Exit 8 older $3.99 10,946 93% 328k $1.3M (exactly $1,310,236) KOTAKE CREATE
The Test older $1.99 19,599 96% 588k $1.2M (exactly $1,170,060) Randumb Studios
DEATH NOTE Killer Within $9.99 2,324 84% 70k $697k (exactly $696,503) Grounding Inc.
SIMULACRA older $4.99 3,454 92% 104k $517k (exactly $517,064) Kaigan Games OÜ
The Test: Hypothesis Rising older $1.99 5,838 97% 175k $349k (exactly $348,529) Randumb Studios
The Test: Final Revelation older $1.99 5,286 97% 159k $316k (exactly $315,574) Randumb Studios
My Child Lebensborn Remastered older $7.99 1,299 96% 39k $311k (exactly $311,370) Teknopilot AS, Sarepta Studio AS
Soul Touch $9.99 1,007 97% 30k $302k (exactly $301,798) URAYAHA.TECH
Seedsow Lullaby $20.99 472 97% 14k $297k (exactly $297,218) iMel Inc.
I Hate My Waifu Streamer $9.99 891 92% 27k $267k (exactly $267,033) Nozori Games
Cellveillance $15.99 531 85% 16k $255k (exactly $254,721) KARMAGAME HK LIMITED
Forensics: Crime Scene Detective $24.99 288 62% 8.6k $216k (exactly $215,914) Binary Impact, Alchemical Works
It Has My Face $9.99 608 88% 18k $182k (exactly $182,218) NightByte Games
The Boba Teashop $4.99 1,041 95% 31k $156k (exactly $155,838) Mike Ten

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