Do I ship it?

GamesImmersive SimImmersive Sim + Western

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Western Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Western

Only 17 developers shipped a Western Immersive Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Saloon Simulator, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 14 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $4.4k, ×2.9 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 7 in 10 cleared $1.8k. Revenue is up 805% on the market; 14 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×1.4 per shipper.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 805% on the market, 14 announced, ×1.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Western
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Western: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $1.9k (exactly $1,875)
Median $4.4k (exactly $4,404)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $32,526)
Top 5% $490k (exactly $489,942)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 34
Announced 14
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 805% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Western
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Economy, Life Sim, Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,913 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.9k, median $4.4k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $480k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.9k. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 14 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  5. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  6. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  7. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  8. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  9. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  10. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  11. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced
  12. + Time TravelFair20 devs · median $3.7k · 10 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
Railway Empire older $29.99 7,219 82% 217k $6.5M (exactly $6,494,934) Gaming Minds Studios
Weird West: Definitive Edition older $39.99 3,962 77% 119k $4.8M (exactly $4,753,211) WolfEye Studios
Blood West older $24.99 6,132 90% 184k $4.6M (exactly $4,597,160) Hyperstrange
Railway Empire 2 older $49.99 1,966 72% 59k $2.9M (exactly $2,948,410) Gaming Minds Studios
Saloon Simulator · EA $18.99 860 89% 26k $490k (exactly $489,942) Glivi Games S.A.
Railroad Corporation 2 $39.99 376 69% 11k $451k (exactly $451,087) Corbie Games
Deadwater Saloon older $19.99 186 63% 5.6k $112k (exactly $111,544) Tanglefoot Games
Wild West Supermarket Simulator $12.99 168 63% 5.0k $65k (exactly $65,470) SunDust
WANTED: Wild Sluts 🔞 $14.99 140 68% 4.2k $63k (exactly $62,958) Lewd Star
Wild West Miner Simulator $5.99 181 66% 5.4k $33k (exactly $32,526) Digital Melody
I Want to Believe $16.99 47 80% 1.4k $24k (exactly $23,956) Fang's Lab
Racket Pinball $19.99 37 91% 1.1k $22k (exactly $22,189) NiVision
DOOMED Detective Game $6.99 65 46% 2.0k $14k (exactly $13,630) Azikton Studio
Western Gun Shop Simulator $6.99 21 76% 630 $4.4k (exactly $4,404) Arafkan Games
Roulette Heist $6.99 18 94% 540 $3.8k (exactly $3,775) DreamArk Lab

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