Do I ship it?

GamesPolitical SimPolitical Sim + Investigation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Investigation Political Sim?

Political Sim + Investigation

Only 13 developers shipped an Investigation Political 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, Beholder: Conductor, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $1.9M, ×4004 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 29 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 29 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Political Sim + Investigation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $401k → $899 → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Political Sim + Investigation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,919)
Top 5% $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 28
Announced 29
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 100% on the market, supply 265% more developers than the period before.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Political Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Investigation
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Political Sim, Investigation; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Choices Matter, Puzzle, Multiple Endings
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 9 games average 90% positive over 5,739 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $900, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $1.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 29 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Political Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + DetectiveFair10 devs · median $9.9k · 15 announced
  2. + Psychological HorrorFair10 devs · median $4.8k · 16 announced
  3. + IdlerFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 14 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $832 · 16 announced
  5. + Board GameFair18 devs · median $600 · 13 announced
  6. + TabletopFair12 devs · median $600 · 12 announced
  7. + CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  8. + Sci-fiPoor odds24 devs · median $17k · 33 announced
  9. + FuturisticPoor odds16 devs · median $15k · 27 announced
  10. + 4XPoor odds29 devs · median $12k · 50 announced
  11. + Cold WarPoor odds15 devs · median $9.9k · 23 announced
  12. + BuildingPoor odds37 devs · median $9.6k · 83 announced

All 72 pairs on the Political Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You older $9.99 8,936 90% 268k $2.7M (exactly $2,678,119) Osmotic Studios
Beholder: Conductor $13.99 4,532 91% 136k $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080) Alawar
We. The Revolution older $19.99 1,997 73% 60k $1.2M (exactly $1,197,601) Polyslash
Sigma Theory: Global Cold War older $17.99 892 77% 27k $481k (exactly $481,412) Mi-Clos Studio, Goblinz Studio, FibreTi… (Mi-Clos Studio, Goblinz Studio, FibreTigre)
Orwell: Ignorance is Strength older $9.99 1,506 77% 45k $451k (exactly $451,348) Osmotic Studios
The Darkest Files $19.99 668 95% 20k $401k (exactly $400,600) Paintbucket Games
JudgeSim older $6.99 1,376 84% 41k $289k (exactly $288,547) DelusionArt Studio
Security 51 $9.99 454 71% 14k $136k (exactly $136,064) Alawar
You are the Judge! older $12.99 251 69% 7.5k $98k (exactly $97,815) Steel Games
The Shadow Government Simulator older $9.99 100 75% 3.0k $30k (exactly $29,970) Chupacabra Game Studios
What Awaits, Aleksey? $15.99 51 86% 1.5k $24k (exactly $24,465) JKBC
The Newspapers of the day $15.99 4 75% 120 $1.9k (exactly $1,919) divingstudio
Black Border 2 $1.99 19 63% 570 $1.1k (exactly $1,134) Bitzooma
Wolftown $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Portponky
GlobalQuarantine $4.99 6 33% 180 $898 (exactly $898) Contagio Games
Attorney Adventure · EA $9.99 2 50% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Ambearth Games
Police Chief Simulator $19.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Perfect Circle Team S.A.

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