Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + LGBTQ+
Should I ship an LGBTQ+ Life Sim?
Life Sim + LGBTQ+
Of 73 developers who shipped an LGBTQ+ Life Sim 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.. 94 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $28k, ×58 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.9k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.8M, ×3911 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 94 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.8k (exactly $3,835) |
|---|---|
| Median | $28k (exactly $27,572) |
| Top 25% | $85k (exactly $84,544) |
| Top 5% | $1.9M (exactly $1,857,711) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 73 |
| Released games | 236 |
| Announced | 94 |
| 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 up 15% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Character Customization, RPG
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Cute, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 67,150 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.9k. 6 in 10 of the 47 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 94 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + FaithFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + ZombiesFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | My Time at Sandrock | older | $39.99 | 24,110 88% | 723k | $29M (exactly $28,924,767) | Pathea Games |
| | Paralives | · EA | $39.99 | 20,123 89% | 604k | $24M (exactly $24,141,563) | Alex Massé and team |
| | Unpacking | older | $19.99 | 35,072 93% | 1.1M | $21M (exactly $21,032,678) | Witch Beam |
| | Coral Island | older | $29.99 | 21,828 89% | 655k | $20M (exactly $19,638,652) | Stairway Games |
| | VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action | older | $14.99 | 33,838 97% | 1.0M | $15M (exactly $15,216,949) | Sukeban Games |
| | Fields of Mistria | $13.99 | 31,918 96% | 958k | $13M (exactly $13,395,985) | NPC Studio | |
| | House Party | older | $24.99 | 13,968 85% | 419k | $10M (exactly $10,471,810) | Eek! Games, LLC |
| | Yes, Your Grace | older | $19.99 | 12,571 87% | 377k | $7.5M (exactly $7,538,829) | Brave At Night |
| | STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town | older | $39.99 | 5,268 93% | 158k | $6.3M (exactly $6,320,020) | Marvelous Inc. |
| | Potionomics | older | $24.99 | 6,973 90% | 209k | $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) | Voracious Games |
| | Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of The Rings™ Game | $34.99 | 3,237 81% | 97k | $3.4M (exactly $3,397,879) | Wētā Workshop | |
| | FEMBOY FUTA HOUSE | $14.99 | 4,131 89% | 124k | $1.9M (exactly $1,857,711) | IT'S A TRAP | |
| | Tales of Seikyu | $24.99 | 2,179 83% | 65k | $1.6M (exactly $1,633,596) | ACE Entertainment | |
| | Yes, Your Grace 2: Snowfall | $24.99 | 1,488 76% | 45k | $1.1M (exactly $1,115,554) | Brave At Night | |
| | Squeakross: Home Squeak Home | $14.99 | 2,045 98% | 61k | $920k (exactly $919,636) | Alblune | |
| | Thrifty Business | $12.99 | 1,228 97% | 37k | $479k (exactly $478,552) | Spellgarden Games | |
| | Cook Serve Forever | $29.99 | 333 69% | 10k | $300k (exactly $299,600) | Vertigo Gaming Inc. | |
| | Youtubers Life 3 | $19.99 | 468 50% | 14k | $281k (exactly $280,660) | UPLAY Online |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.