Do I ship it?

Games › Job Simulator › Job Simulator + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Job Simulator?

Job Simulator + Psychological Horror

Of 25 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Job Simulator 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.. 33 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $9.3k, ×20 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $610k, ×1305 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 33 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 19.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 33 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Job Simulator + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $620k → $9.3k → $6.6k → $9.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Job Simulator + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Median $9.3k (exactly $9,281)
Top 25% $94k (exactly $93,553)
Top 5% $620k (exactly $619,965)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 34
Announced 33
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 60% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Job Simulator
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Psychological Horror
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
Job Simulator; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Choices Matter
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 18,161 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.2k, median $9.3k, 1 in 4 over $93k, 1 in 20 over $610k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.2k. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Job Simulator with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationStrong odds36 devs · median $57k · 31 announced
  2. + NatureStrong odds21 devs · median $38k · 19 announced
  3. + CollectathonStrong odds33 devs · median $33k · 42 announced
  4. + BuildingStrong odds66 devs · median $28k · 70 announced
  5. + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds18 devs · median $23k · 6 announced
  6. + Inventory ManagementStrong odds69 devs · median $15k · 62 announced
  7. + CraftingStrong odds62 devs · median $15k · 65 announced
  8. + Shop KeeperStrong odds101 devs · median $13k · 122 announced
  9. + Hidden ObjectStrong odds17 devs · median $11k · 21 announced
  10. + CapitalismFair72 devs · median $23k · 75 announced
  11. + EconomyFair116 devs · median $22k · 125 announced
  12. + Immersive SimFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced

All 42 pairs on the Job Simulator page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Fast Food Simulator 2024 · EA · $3.9M Job Simulator 2016 · $2.6M Papa's Freezeria Deluxe 2023 · $2.2M Papa's Pizzeria Deluxe 2024 · $620k Thank You For Your Application 2026 · $572k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Fast Food Simulator · EA $14.99 8,653 86% 260k $3.9M (exactly $3,891,254) No Ceiling Games
Job Simulator older $19.99 4,406 91% 132k $2.6M (exactly $2,642,278) Owlchemy Labs
Papa's Freezeria Deluxe older $5.99 12,275 99% 368k $2.2M (exactly $2,205,818) Flipline Studios
Papa's Pizzeria Deluxe $5.99 3,450 98% 104k $620k (exactly $619,965) Flipline Studios
Thank You For Your Application $19.99 953 81% 29k $572k (exactly $571,514) IceLemonTea Studio
Vacation Simulator older $19.99 945 92% 28k $567k (exactly $566,716) Owlchemy Labs
Supermarket Chaos $4.99 3,266 92% 98k $489k (exactly $488,920) BunnyHop
I got a millenary cat older $6.99 685 85% 21k $144k (exactly $143,644) CatBellUnion
Tostchu $7.99 594 84% 18k $142k (exactly $142,382) Ravenscape Collective
ROGUE LIGHT DECK BUILDER $3.99 888 94% 27k $106k (exactly $106,294) Gil Lawson
Letter Lost $19.99 156 82% 4.7k $94k (exactly $93,553) FlatNine Games
Cafe DReAMLAND $12.99 99 93% 3.0k $39k (exactly $38,580) めとこ
Conductor: Eternal Service $14.99 34 64% 1.0k $15k (exactly $15,290) Beshbarmak games
[Bober Bros] Last Pill Bar $5.99 68 91% 2.0k $12k (exactly $12,220) BOBER BROS

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