Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Perma Death
Should I ship a Perma Death Life Sim?
Life Sim + Perma Death
Of 25 developers who shipped a Perma Death 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $210 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 35 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $60 (exactly $60) |
|---|---|
| Median | $210 (exactly $210) |
| Top 25% | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
| Top 5% | $1.0M (exactly $1,021,091) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 54 |
| Announced | 35 |
| 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 down 55% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Life Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Perma Death
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim, Perma Death; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Survival
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 1990's
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 20,362 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $60. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different second tag, 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
My Winter Car 2025 · EA · $8.4M 
One Hour One Life 2018 · $1.8M 
G.O.P.O.T.A 2023 · $1.3M 
Shelter 2013 · $1.2M 
Bootstrap Island 2026 · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | My Winter Car | · EA | $14.99 | 18,614 94% | 558k | $8.4M (exactly $8,370,716) | Amistech Games |
| | One Hour One Life | older | $14.99 | 3,988 79% | 120k | $1.8M (exactly $1,793,404) | Jason Rohrer |
| | G.O.P.O.T.A | older | $29.99 | 1,493 81% | 45k | $1.3M (exactly $1,343,252) | VD Games, PropilGames |
| | Shelter | older | $14.99 | 2,683 85% | 80k | $1.2M (exactly $1,206,545) | Might and Delight |
| | Bootstrap Island | $24.99 | 1,362 81% | 41k | $1.0M (exactly $1,021,091) | Maru VR | |
 | A Merchant's Promise | · EA | $14.99 | 300 86% | 9.0k | $135k (exactly $134,910) | Game Draft Studio |
 | Lost Scavenger | · EA older | $14.99 | 220 51% | 6.6k | $99k (exactly $98,934) | Rockbee |
 | Domestic Dog | older | $4.99 | 319 83% | 9.6k | $48k (exactly $47,754) | SD |
 | Trailer Shop Simulator | older | $4.99 | 265 73% | 8.0k | $40k (exactly $39,670) | GidAzGames |
 | Routine Feat | older | $9.99 | 115 87% | 3.5k | $34k (exactly $34,466) | sad3d |
 | An Other Golf Game | · EA | $6.99 | 46 86% | 1.4k | $9.6k (exactly $9,646) | waxycaps |
 | TradingLife | · EA | $11.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.6k (exactly $3,597) | Fun(ctor) Studio |
 | Back to Dust - Hold it Together | $6.99 | 17 100% | 510 | $3.6k (exactly $3,565) | KomBits Game Studio | |
 | GG Life | · EA | $14.99 | 4 50% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | AfterGlow Games |
 | Chinese style school | $3.99 | 5 20% | 150 | $598 (exactly $598) | 柯志豪 | |
 | Anomaly Observer | · EA | $7.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $479 (exactly $479) | Letalis Entertainment |
 | 100 for Justice | $5.99 | 2 50% | 60 | $359 (exactly $359) | Cartoon Rocket Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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