Do I ship it?

GamesLootLoot + Life Sim

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 14160% on the market, 45 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Loot + Life Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $178 → $891 → $7.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Loot + Life Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
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.

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.

Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $81k.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds28 devs · median $19k · 22 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  3. + SteampunkStrong odds7 devs · median $2.2k · 10 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair36 devs · median $14k · 52 announced
  5. + Turn-Based StrategyFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  6. + JRPGFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  7. + EconomyFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  8. + IdlerFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  9. + CatsFair17 devs · median $3.4k · 24 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  11. + Creature CollectorFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair90 devs · median $1.9k · 95 announced

All 159 pairs on the Loot page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

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.