Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Psychological
Should I ship a Psychological Life Sim?
Life Sim + Psychological
Of 44 developers who shipped a Psychological 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.. 93 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $300k, ×635 the market median. Revenue is up 305% on the market; 93 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,317) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) |
| Top 5% | $302k (exactly $301,798) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 44 |
| Released games | 115 |
| Announced | 93 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 305% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- Psychological
- 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Choices Matter, Multiple Endings
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Emotional, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 7,530 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 93 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | G.O.P.O.T.A | older | $29.99 | 1,493 81% | 45k | $1.3M (exactly $1,343,252) | VD Games, PropilGames |
| | Super Seducer : How to Talk to Girls | older | $12.99 | 1,602 83% | 48k | $624k (exactly $624,299) | RLR Training Inc |
| | Static Dread: The Lighthouse | $10.90 | 1,394 90% | 42k | $456k (exactly $455,838) | solarsuit.games | |
| | and Roger | $4.99 | 2,703 95% | 81k | $405k (exactly $404,639) | TearyHand Studio | |
| | The Test: Final Revelation | older | $1.99 | 5,286 97% | 159k | $316k (exactly $315,574) | Randumb Studios |
| | My Child Lebensborn Remastered | older | $7.99 | 1,299 96% | 39k | $311k (exactly $311,370) | Teknopilot AS, Sarepta Studio AS |
| | Soul Touch | $9.99 | 1,007 97% | 30k | $302k (exactly $301,798) | URAYAHA.TECH | |
| | I Hate My Waifu Streamer | $9.99 | 891 92% | 27k | $267k (exactly $267,033) | Nozori Games | |
| | Cellveillance | $15.99 | 531 85% | 16k | $255k (exactly $254,721) | KARMAGAME HK LIMITED | |
| | Insomnia: Theater in the Head | older | $2.49 | 2,893 96% | 87k | $216k (exactly $216,107) | Perfect Day Studio |
| | Sister Ray | $11.99 | 410 95% | 12k | $147k (exactly $147,477) | The Growing Stones | |
| | Shale Hill Secrets | $14.99 | 245 80% | 7.4k | $110k (exactly $110,176) | Love-Joint | |
| | Nightmare Shift | $8.99 | 206 72% | 6.2k | $56k (exactly $55,558) | Binary Lunar | |
| | 禁地直播 | $4.99 | 109 88% | 3.3k | $16k (exactly $16,317) | Say Hi Hi | |
| | Conductor: Eternal Service | $14.99 | 34 64% | 1.0k | $15k (exactly $15,290) | Beshbarmak games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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