Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + Procedural Generation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Procedural Generation Life Sim?

Life Sim + Procedural Generation

Of 47 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation 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.. 105 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $360k, ×759 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 105 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 105 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + Procedural Generation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 47
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $56k → $18k → $958 → $49k → $16k → $450 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + Procedural Generation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 47
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $24,929)
Top 5% $360k (exactly $360,420)
Developers, 2 yr 47
Released games 115
Announced 105
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 75% on the market, supply 115% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Procedural Generation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Life Sim, Procedural Generation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Sandbox, Management
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 9,239 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $24k, 1 in 20 over $360k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 105 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds38 devs · median $54k · 21 announced
  2. + MinigamesStrong odds20 devs · median $11k · 19 announced
  3. + MusicStrong odds28 devs · median $9.2k · 20 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair144 devs · median $19k · 153 announced
  5. + Football (Soccer)Fair10 devs · median $10k · 16 announced
  6. + FaithFair11 devs · median $9.4k · 13 announced
  7. + Artificial IntelligenceFair92 devs · median $7.3k · 121 announced
  8. + GamblingFair28 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + DemonsFair16 devs · median $2.4k · 22 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair162 devs · median $2.4k · 219 announced
  11. + LogicFair70 devs · median $1.5k · 74 announced
  12. + ZombiesFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 34 announced

All 173 pairs on the Life Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
WorldBox - God Simulator · EA older $19.99 51,071 95% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,627,279) Maxim Karpenko
Wobbledogs older $19.99 13,770 98% 413k $8.3M (exactly $8,257,869) Animal Uprising
Cozy Grove older $14.99 7,512 89% 225k $3.4M (exactly $3,378,146) Spry Fox
Ostranauts $19.99 3,137 77% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,881,259) Blue Bottle Games
One Hour One Life older $14.99 3,988 79% 120k $1.8M (exactly $1,793,404) Jason Rohrer
CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience older $19.99 2,596 91% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,556,821) Delve Interactive
Lakeburg Legacies older $27.58 1,302 71% 39k $1.1M (exactly $1,077,275) Ishtar Games
City Game Studio: Your Game Dev Adventure Begins older $19.99 1,779 91% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,066,866) Binogure Studio 🐺
The Sapling · EA older $17.99 1,922 89% 58k $1.0M (exactly $1,037,303) Wessel Stoop
Horsey Game $9.99 2,911 97% 87k $872k (exactly $872,427) Captain Games
Ecosystem $19.99 601 76% 18k $360k (exactly $360,420) Tom Johnson
Planetary Life · EA $11.99 912 94% 27k $328k (exactly $328,046) Sotenbox
The End of History · EA $28.00 366 68% 11k $307k (exactly $307,440) Tatamibeya
Sinner Maker · EA $9.66 545 91% 16k $158k (exactly $157,941) Pantokrator
Nature & Life - Drunk On Nectar $14.99 263 87% 7.9k $118k (exactly $118,271) Venugopalan Sreedharan
ANLIFE: Motion-Learning Life Evolution $13.99 161 83% 4.8k $68k (exactly $67,572) Attructure Inc.
The Bibites: Digital Life · EA $9.99 218 96% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) Omnia Studios
Call of Boba · EA $12.99 125 67% 3.8k $49k (exactly $48,712) Tomatoast, Tomatoast

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.