Do I ship it?

GamesOpen WorldOpen World + Job Simulator

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Job Simulator Open World game?

Open World + Job Simulator

Of 21 developers who shipped a Job Simulator Open World game 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.. 28 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×2.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $990; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×90 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 28 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 28 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Open World + Job Simulator
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5M → $18k → $3.6k → $3.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Open World + Job Simulator: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $987 (exactly $987)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,591)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $25,168)
Top 5% $135k (exactly $134,796)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 41
Announced 28
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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.

Open World
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Job Simulator
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Open World, Job Simulator; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Life Sim
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
7 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 $8.99.

The top 10 games average 73% positive over 2,217 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $990, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $25k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $990. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Open World with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + WuxiaFair12 devs · median $634k · 17 announced
  2. + 4 Player LocalFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $23k · 21 announced
  4. + TrainsFair27 devs · median $21k · 25 announced
  5. + FMVFair11 devs · median $14k · 13 announced
  6. + GothicFair25 devs · median $5.4k · 32 announced
  7. + MarsFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  8. + TanksFair9 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  9. + FaithLong shot11 devs · median $716 · 14 announced
  10. + DiplomacyPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8M · 38 announced
  11. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds8 devs · median $767k · 11 announced
  12. + Co-op CampaignPoor odds17 devs · median $267k · 65 announced

All 240 pairs on the Open World page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm older $24.99 40,862 79% 1.2M $31M (exactly $30,634,241) Toxic Dog
Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator older $29.99 4,414 62% 132k $4.0M (exactly $3,971,276) Simteract
Firefighting Simulator - The Squad older $24.99 4,287 82% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,213,964) Chronos Unterhaltungssoftware
Loddlenaut older $19.99 3,832 98% 115k $2.3M (exactly $2,298,050) Moon Lagoon
AirportSim older $34.99 1,412 67% 42k $1.5M (exactly $1,482,176) MS GAMES, MK STUDIOS
Passpartout 2: The Lost Artist older $24.99 1,234 95% 37k $925k (exactly $925,130) Flamebait Games
Animal Shelter 2 $24.99 1,204 79% 36k $903k (exactly $902,639) Games Incubator
Train Life: A Railway Simulator older $19.99 1,451 63% 44k $870k (exactly $870,165) Simteract
Bus-Simulator 2012 older $6.99 986 43% 30k $207k (exactly $206,764) TML-Studios
Fishing Paradiso older $14.99 301 91% 9.0k $135k (exactly $135,360) Odencat
Snow Plowing Simulator $15.99 281 64% 8.4k $135k (exactly $134,796) FreeMind S.A.
Emergency Room Simulator $24.99 154 43% 4.6k $115k (exactly $115,454) Caipirinha Games
Food Delivery Simulator · EA $7.99 302 77% 9.1k $72k (exactly $72,389) Black Sea Studios
Constracktion $14.99 62 66% 1.9k $28k (exactly $27,881) Lapioware
Biztopia · EA $7.99 105 68% 3.2k $25k (exactly $25,168) Lymo Games
Drive Thru Miami - Restaurant Simulator · EA $9.99 60 60% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,982) Alkame Games
Designated Driver Simulator · EA $17.99 16 62% 480 $8.6k (exactly $8,635) PostSIM
Casino Management Simulator · EA $12.99 20 60% 600 $7.8k (exactly $7,794) BroxStudios
Street Vendor's Journey · EA $9.99 13 92% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) Wet Fox Games

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