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Should I ship a Loot Life Sim?
Loot + Life Sim
Of 22 developers who shipped a Loot 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.. 45 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $81k, ×129 the market median. Revenue is up 14160% on the market; 45 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,485) |
| Top 25% | $23k (exactly $22,661) |
| Top 5% | $81k (exactly $81,219) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 43 |
| Announced | 45 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 up 14160% on the market, supply 20% 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
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Loot, Life Sim; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Resource Management, Economy
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, 3D, Family Friendly
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 35% positive over 23,082 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Loot with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds
- + Local Co-OpStrong odds
- + SteampunkStrong odds
- + CapitalismFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + JRPGFair
- + EconomyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + CatsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | BidKing | $2.99 | 22,238 33% | 667k | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) | MindSurge Network & Games | |
| | Denizen | · EA older | $19.99 | 886 72% | 27k | $531k (exactly $531,334) | Departure Interactive |
| | Dungeon Village | older | $8.99 | 829 88% | 25k | $224k (exactly $223,581) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
| | Dungeon Village 2 | older | $8.99 | 662 86% | 20k | $179k (exactly $178,541) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd |
| | Lost Scavenger | · EA older | $14.99 | 220 51% | 6.6k | $99k (exactly $98,934) | Rockbee |
| | Summon | older | $0.99 | 2,999 92% | 90k | $89k (exactly $89,070) | Goosix Games |
| | Treasure Beach | $9.99 | 271 81% | 8.1k | $81k (exactly $81,219) | Rogue Duck Interactive | |
| | King of Jade: Stone Tycoon | $7.99 | 155 81% | 4.7k | $37k (exactly $37,154) | 909Game | |
| | Eggstreme Farming | $6.99 | 169 73% | 5.1k | $35k (exactly $35,439) | Sagitta Studios | |
| | Art Shop Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 79 91% | 2.4k | $31k (exactly $30,786) | Lovheim Studios |
| | Loot & Ledger | $11.99 | 63 71% | 1.9k | $23k (exactly $22,661) | Eddy | |
| | Post Apocalypse Microbe Lab | $7.99 | 59 94% | 1.8k | $14k (exactly $14,142) | SKIPMORE, URARA-WORKS | |
| | Project Breakout | $9.99 | 26 65% | 780 | $7.8k (exactly $7,792) | maxkerpen | |
| | Condemned to Clean | $5.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $2.3k (exactly $2,336) | KOMA | |
| | Failed Game Developer | $5.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $1.6k (exactly $1,617) | msswkd |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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