Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Life Sim?
Life Sim + Mystery
Of 84 developers who shipped a Mystery 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.. 173 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×695 the market median. Revenue is up 110% on the market; 173 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) |
| Top 25% | $24k (exactly $24,401) |
| Top 5% | $330k (exactly $330,113) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 84 |
| Released games | 168 |
| Announced | 173 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 110% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Story Rich, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 15,821 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 173 games are announced against 43 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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
Whisper of the House 2025 · $2.4M 
Obenseuer 2018 · EA · $1.0M 
Friendship with Benefits 2020 · $486k 
HELLMART 2026 · $465k 
Sunken Engine 2026 · $366k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Whisper of the House | $14.99 | 5,344 96% | 160k | $2.4M (exactly $2,403,197) | 元气弹工作室(GD Studio) | |
| | Obenseuer | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,684 94% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) | Loiste Interactive |
| | Friendship with Benefits | older | $10.99 | 1,475 96% | 44k | $486k (exactly $486,308) | TwistedScarlett60 |
| | HELLMART | $14.99 | 1,034 77% | 31k | $465k (exactly $464,990) | GAZE IN GAMES | |
| | Sunken Engine | $14.99 | 814 80% | 24k | $366k (exactly $366,056) | Two Nomads Studio | |
 | Blood Money: Lethal Eden | $8.99 | 1,262 91% | 38k | $340k (exactly $340,361) | 碧火互娱 | |
 | ORDER 13 | $8.99 | 1,224 87% | 37k | $330k (exactly $330,113) | Cybernetic Walrus | |
 | The Test: Final Revelation | older | $1.99 | 5,286 97% | 159k | $316k (exactly $315,574) | Randumb Studios |
 | Photomaly | $6.99 | 1,292 89% | 39k | $271k (exactly $270,932) | Revira Interactive | |
 | Cellveillance | $15.99 | 531 85% | 16k | $255k (exactly $254,721) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
 | SchoolBoy Runaway | $1.99 | 3,731 90% | 112k | $223k (exactly $222,741) | Linked Squad | |
 | Everholm | $19.99 | 297 75% | 8.9k | $178k (exactly $178,111) | Chonky Loaf | |
 | On Your Tail | $19.99 | 292 87% | 8.8k | $175k (exactly $175,112) | Memorable Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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