Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + PvE

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + PvE

Of 132 developers who shipped a PvE 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.. 310 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×1.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $880k, ×591 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 310 games are announced against 86 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 310 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + PvE
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 132
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.4k → $9.9k → $2.4k → $4.2k → $2.3k → $5.3k → $1.2k (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + PvE: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 132
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,799)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,101)
Top 5% $885k (exactly $884,646)
Developers, 2 yr 132
Released games 289
Announced 310
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 15% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, PvE; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Exploration
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 103,978 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $880k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 310 games are announced against 86 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 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

Squad 2020 · $217M Abiotic Factor 2025 · $44M SnowRunner 2021 · $42M Undisputed 2024 · $29M Sins of a Solar Empire II 2024 · $11M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Squad older $39.99 180,505 82% 5.4M $217M (exactly $216,551,848) Offworld
Abiotic Factor $34.99 42,075 95% 1.3M $44M (exactly $44,166,128) Deep Field Games
SnowRunner older $29.99 46,343 90% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,694,797) Saber Interactive
Undisputed $49.99 19,190 60% 576k $29M (exactly $28,779,243) Steel City Interactive
Sins of a Solar Empire II older $49.99 7,147 83% 214k $11M (exactly $10,718,356) Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock En… (Ironclad Games Corporation, Stardock Entertainment)
WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition $29.99 11,511 97% 345k $10M (exactly $10,356,447) eduweb
Zero Hour older $9.99 28,570 78% 857k $8.6M (exactly $8,562,429) AttritoM7 Productions
MISERY $12.99 20,015 85% 600k $7.8M (exactly $7,799,846) Platypus Entertainment
Ghosts of Tabor · EA older $24.99 9,140 70% 274k $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) Combat Waffle Studios
GoreBox older $8.99 23,130 84% 694k $6.2M (exactly $6,238,161) F2Games
MechWarrior 5: Clans $29.99 5,565 74% 167k $5.0M (exactly $5,006,830) Piranha Games Inc.
WolfQuest: Classic $29.99 1,401 90% 42k $1.3M (exactly $1,260,480) eduweb
Bootstrap Island $24.99 1,362 81% 41k $1.0M (exactly $1,021,091) Maru VR
DREADZONE · EA $24.99 1,180 51% 35k $885k (exactly $884,646) Eshed
GERONIMO · EA $19.99 1,267 81% 38k $760k (exactly $759,820) Dark Matter Studios
PBA Pro Bowling 2026 $39.99 412 91% 12k $494k (exactly $494,276) FarSight Studios

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