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Should I ship a Science Immersive Sim?
Immersive Sim + Science
Of 56 developers who shipped a Science 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.. 72 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×1.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×924 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 72 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) |
| Top 25% | $46k (exactly $45,577) |
| Top 5% | $1.4M (exactly $1,384,554) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 56 |
| Released games | 169 |
| Announced | 72 |
| 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 10% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 20%, 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
- Science
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Immersive Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 58,892 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 7 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 72 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Immersive Sim with a different setting or mood, 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
Abiotic Factor 2025 · $44M 
Forza Motorsport 2023 · $26M 
Universe Sandbox 2015 · EA · $25M 
Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game 2015 · EA · $15M 
Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey 2020 · $12M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Abiotic Factor | $34.99 | 42,075 95% | 1.3M | $44M (exactly $44,166,128) | Deep Field Games | |
| | 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 |
| | Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game | · EA older | $29.99 | 16,815 93% | 504k | $15M (exactly $15,128,456) | Camshaft Software Ltd |
| | Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey | older | $39.99 | 9,794 81% | 294k | $12M (exactly $11,749,862) | Panache Digital Games |
 | WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition | $29.99 | 11,511 97% | 345k | $10M (exactly $10,356,447) | eduweb | |
 | Eco | · EA older | $29.99 | 11,375 80% | 341k | $10M (exactly $10,234,088) | Strange Loop Games |
 | Liftoff®: FPV Drone Racing | older | $19.99 | 13,633 95% | 409k | $8.2M (exactly $8,175,710) | LuGus Studios |
 | Uncrashed : FPV Drone Simulator | older | $14.99 | 7,770 95% | 233k | $3.5M (exactly $3,494,169) | Luminite |
 | OUTBRK | · EA older | $34.99 | 3,221 82% | 97k | $3.4M (exactly $3,381,084) | Sublime |
 | Reentry - A Space Flight Simulator | $34.99 | 1,319 97% | 40k | $1.4M (exactly $1,384,554) | Lyra Creative | |
 | WolfQuest: Classic | $29.99 | 1,401 90% | 42k | $1.3M (exactly $1,260,480) | eduweb | |
 | Mudborne: Frog Management Sim | $7.99 | 993 96% | 30k | $238k (exactly $238,022) | ellraiser, TNgineers | |
 | JOY OF PROGRAMMING - Software Engineering Simulator | $17.99 | 378 76% | 11k | $204k (exactly $204,007) | Prof. Scherer | |
 | Ambrosia Sky | $24.99 | 267 89% | 8.0k | $200k (exactly $200,170) | Soft Rains, Blackbird Interactive | |
 | Monster Lab Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 505 70% | 15k | $197k (exactly $196,798) | Round 3 Studios |
 | Primitier | $19.99 | 305 94% | 9.2k | $183k (exactly $182,908) | Ota Mato | |
 | Honeycomb: The World Beyond | $29.99 | 138 65% | 4.1k | $124k (exactly $124,159) | Frozen Way |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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