Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + Psychological

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 305% on the market, 93 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 44
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $32k → $1.7k → $6.9k → $802 → $2.6k → $3.5k → $839 (still earning) → $538 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 44
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.

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
Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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; 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
Plate 4 · demand

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.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $300k.

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.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Life Sim with a different setting or mood, 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
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.