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Should I ship a Level Editor Life Sim?
Level Editor + Life Sim
Only 13 developers shipped a Level Editor Life 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, CFS (Chinese Football Simulator), 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, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.1k, ×6.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $86k, ×138 the market median. Revenue is up 810% on the market; 29 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.4k (exactly $2,427) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.1k (exactly $4,092) |
| Top 25% | $55k (exactly $55,186) |
| Top 5% | $87k (exactly $86,913) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 37 |
| Announced | 29 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 810% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Level Editor
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Life Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Level Editor, Life Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Base Building, Immersive Sim
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 981 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.5k. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Level Editor with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + AutomationLong shot
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
AirportSim 2023 · $1.5M 
Laptop Tycoon 2021 · $96k 
CFS (Chinese Football Simulator) 2026 · $87k 
BOXROOM 2026 · EA · $68k 
The Bibites: Digital Life 2025 · EA · $65k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | AirportSim | older | $34.99 | 1,412 67% | 42k | $1.5M (exactly $1,482,176) | MS GAMES, MK STUDIOS |
| | Laptop Tycoon | older | $7.99 | 400 74% | 12k | $96k (exactly $95,880) | Roastery Games |
| | CFS (Chinese Football Simulator) | $9.99 | 290 67% | 8.7k | $87k (exactly $86,913) | 悟空实验室 | |
| | BOXROOM | · EA | $7.99 | 283 70% | 8.5k | $68k (exactly $67,835) | Nested Loop Studios |
| | The Bibites: Digital Life | · EA | $9.99 | 218 96% | 6.5k | $65k (exactly $65,335) | Omnia Studios |
 | Goalgetter | older | $19.99 | 96 80% | 2.9k | $58k (exactly $57,571) | netmin games |
 | Tennis Manager 26 | $39.99 | 46 73% | 1.4k | $55k (exactly $55,186) | Rebound | |
 | Handyman Corporation | older | $11.99 | 136 47% | 4.1k | $49k (exactly $48,919) | Potato Games |
 | PowerWash Adventure | older | $7.99 | 93 75% | 2.8k | $22k (exactly $22,292) | Grass Digital Technology |
 | PowerWash Adventure VR | older | $6.99 | 90 74% | 2.7k | $19k (exactly $18,873) | Grass Digital Technology |
 | Sex Shop Simulator: Sinful Girls | $7.99 | 57 43% | 1.7k | $14k (exactly $13,663) | Bits, Bytes & Sins | |
 | Project Breakout | $9.99 | 26 65% | 780 | $7.8k (exactly $7,792) | maxkerpen | |
 | Turquoise | $6.20 | 22 95% | 660 | $4.1k (exactly $4,092) | Low Flame Studio | |
 | Cargo Shop Simulator | $3.99 | 27 70% | 810 | $3.2k (exactly $3,232) | Enginar Games | |
 | Trinity Building Editor | $29.99 | 3 33% | 90 | $2.7k (exactly $2,699) | Octopus Entertainment LTD | |
 | Bad Janitor | $8.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $2.4k (exactly $2,427) | Mjau Media |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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