Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Puzzle

Of 491 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 713 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 $1.7k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×168 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 713 games are announced against 282 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 713 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 491
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $3.6k → $2.1k → $2.3k → $2.2k → $2.2k → $1.2k (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 491
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,704)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,944)
Top 5% $251k (exactly $250,933)
Developers, 2 yr 491
Released games 1,068
Announced 713
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.55

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 30% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, Puzzle; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$5.55 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Story Rich, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.55.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 124,367 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 257 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 713 games are announced against 282 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

HITMAN World of Assassination 2022 · $53M Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 2021 · $28M Indiana Jones and the Great Circle 2024 · $27M PC Building Simulator 2019 · $25M Big Walk 2026 · $19M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
HITMAN World of Assassination older $29.99 58,655 87% 1.8M $53M (exactly $52,771,904) IO Interactive A/S
Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 older $24.99 36,950 95% 1.1M $28M (exactly $27,701,415) Red Dot Games
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle $69.99 13,058 89% 392k $27M (exactly $27,417,883) MachineGames
PC Building Simulator older $19.99 42,153 93% 1.3M $25M (exactly $25,279,154) Claudiu Kiss, The Irregular Corporation
Big Walk $19.99 32,470 95% 974k $19M (exactly $19,472,259) House House
Hello Kitty Island Adventure $39.99 9,637 93% 289k $12M (exactly $11,561,509) Sunblink
Shadows of Doubt $24.99 14,646 82% 439k $11M (exactly $10,980,106) ColePowered Games
House Party older $24.99 13,968 85% 419k $10M (exactly $10,471,810) Eek! Games, LLC
Little Witch in the Woods $19.99 11,691 89% 351k $7.0M (exactly $7,011,093) SUNNY SIDE UP
Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library! $5.99 24,497 94% 735k $4.4M (exactly $4,402,111) ArtRising
Mandate Of Heaven $14.99 5,446 91% 163k $2.4M (exactly $2,449,066) 木焱工作室
Cheap Car Repair $19.69 3,603 91% 108k $2.1M (exactly $2,128,292) Little Dog Games
Cyber Manhunt 2: New World - The Hacking Simulator $12.99 5,191 92% 156k $2.0M (exactly $2,022,933) Aluba Van+
Hozy $14.99 4,128 80% 124k $1.9M (exactly $1,856,362) Come On Studio

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