Games › Open World › Open World + Life Sim
Should I ship a Life Sim Open World game?
Open World + Life Sim
Of 269 developers who shipped a Life Sim Open World game 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.. 580 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.3k, ×6.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $4.0M, ×2703 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 580 games are announced against 151 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,349) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.3k (exactly $9,344) |
| Top 25% | $118k (exactly $118,271) |
| Top 5% | $4.0M (exactly $4,048,575) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 269 |
| Released games | 686 |
| Announced | 580 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 down 50% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Open World
- effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
- Life Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Open World, Life Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Exploration, Immersive Sim
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Relaxing, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 190,682 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 6 in 10 of the 151 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 580 games are announced against 151 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Open World with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WuxiaFair
- + 4 Player LocalFair
- + VampiresFair
- + TrainsFair
- + FMVFair
- + GothicFair
- + MarsFair
- + TanksFair
- + FaithLong shot
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
Comparable games
Stardew Valley 2016 · $402M 
My Time at Portia 2019 · $31M 
My Time at Sandrock 2023 · $29M 
Wobbly Life 2025 · $25M 
Paralives 2026 · EA · $24M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stardew Valley | older | $14.99 | 894,201 98% | 27M | $402M (exactly $402,122,190) | ConcernedApe |
| | My Time at Portia | older | $29.99 | 34,844 91% | 1.0M | $31M (exactly $31,349,147) | Pathea Games |
| | My Time at Sandrock | older | $39.99 | 24,110 88% | 723k | $29M (exactly $28,924,767) | Pathea Games |
| | Wobbly Life | $24.99 | 33,034 97% | 991k | $25M (exactly $24,765,590) | RubberBandGames | |
| | Paralives | · EA | $39.99 | 20,123 89% | 604k | $24M (exactly $24,141,563) | Alex Massé and team |
 | Coral Island | older | $29.99 | 21,828 89% | 655k | $20M (exactly $19,638,652) | Stairway Games |
 | Bellwright | · EA older | $29.99 | 20,130 80% | 604k | $18M (exactly $18,110,961) | Donkey Crew |
 | Fields of Mistria | $13.99 | 31,918 96% | 958k | $13M (exactly $13,395,985) | NPC Studio | |
 | Hello Kitty Island Adventure | $39.99 | 9,637 93% | 289k | $12M (exactly $11,561,509) | Sunblink | |
 | Big Ambitions | $25.99 | 14,003 92% | 420k | $11M (exactly $10,918,139) | Hovgaard Games | |
 | WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition | $29.99 | 11,511 97% | 345k | $10M (exactly $10,356,447) | eduweb | |
 | Car For Sale Simulator | $16.99 | 20,229 78% | 607k | $10M (exactly $10,310,721) | Red Axe Games | |
 | Mon Bazou | $15.99 | 19,922 97% | 598k | $9.6M (exactly $9,556,583) | Santa Goat | |
 | My Winter Car | · EA | $14.99 | 18,614 94% | 558k | $8.4M (exactly $8,370,716) | Amistech Games |
 | Little Witch in the Woods | $19.99 | 11,691 89% | 351k | $7.0M (exactly $7,011,093) | SUNNY SIDE UP |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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