Do I ship it?

GamesImmersive SimImmersive Sim + Shop Keeper

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shop Keeper Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Shop Keeper

Of 191 developers who shipped a Shop Keeper 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.. 325 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $8.4k, ×5.6 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $710k, ×479 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 325 games are announced against 165 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 325 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Shop Keeper
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 191
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $177k → $68k → $4.8k → $8.4k (still earning) → $5.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Shop Keeper: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 191
Bottom 30% $2.0k (exactly $1,978)
Median $8.4k (exactly $8,361)
Top 25% $63k (exactly $62,508)
Top 5% $718k (exactly $717,631)
Developers, 2 yr 191
Released games 235
Announced 325
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 down 65% on the market, supply 470% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Shop Keeper
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, Shop Keeper; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Life Sim
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 84,439 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $8.4k, 1 in 4 over $62k, 1 in 20 over $710k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 5 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 325 games are announced against 165 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
TCG Card Shop Simulator $19.99 47,357 96% 1.4M $28M (exactly $28,399,993) OPNeon Games
Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator $19.90 10,118 95% 304k $6.0M (exactly $6,040,446) Blood Pact Studios
Storage Hunter Simulator $24.99 3,866 78% 116k $2.9M (exactly $2,898,340) Raccoons Studio
School Days $14.99 6,023 77% 181k $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) 白雨工作室
Grocery Store Simulator $14.99 5,337 90% 160k $2.4M (exactly $2,400,049) EXPERIMENT ONE
King of Retail older $25.99 2,982 88% 89k $2.3M (exactly $2,325,065) Freaking Games
Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 older $14.99 4,018 91% 121k $1.8M (exactly $1,806,895) One More Time
Dealer's Life 2 older $14.99 3,994 85% 120k $1.8M (exactly $1,796,102) Abyte Entertainment
Roadside Research · EA $14.99 3,991 85% 120k $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) Cybernetic Walrus
Teddy's Haven · EA $14.99 2,800 95% 84k $1.3M (exactly $1,259,160) Teddy Bear Games LLC
Bladesong · EA $19.99 1,483 95% 44k $889k (exactly $889,355) SUN AND SERPENT creations
Megastore Simulator · EA $13.99 1,968 93% 59k $826k (exactly $825,970) Yolo Games Studio
Bookshop Simulator $15.99 1,496 92% 45k $718k (exactly $717,631) Blep Games

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