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Should I ship a Life Sim Resource Management game?
Life Sim + Resource Management
Of 464 developers who shipped a Life Sim Resource Management 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.. 765 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.9k, ×12 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $820k, ×1739 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 765 games are announced against 313 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.9k (exactly $5,920) |
| Top 25% | $47k (exactly $46,528) |
| Top 5% | $826k (exactly $825,970) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 464 |
| Released games | 841 |
| Announced | 765 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 60% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Resource Management
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim, Resource Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Immersive Sim
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 165,945 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 6 in 10 of the 188 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 765 games are announced against 313 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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
Supermarket Simulator 2025 · $48M 
Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator 2022 · $23M 
Big Ambitions 2026 · $11M 
Travellers Rest 2020 · EA · $8.9M 
Youtubers Life 2017 · $8.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Supermarket Simulator | $19.99 | 79,236 92% | 2.4M | $48M (exactly $47,517,829) | Nokta Games | |
| | Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator | older | $19.99 | 37,870 92% | 1.1M | $23M (exactly $22,710,639) | niceplay games |
| | Big Ambitions | $25.99 | 14,003 92% | 420k | $11M (exactly $10,918,139) | Hovgaard Games | |
| | Travellers Rest | · EA older | $17.99 | 16,538 87% | 496k | $8.9M (exactly $8,925,559) | Isolated Games |
| | Youtubers Life | older | $19.99 | 13,748 77% | 412k | $8.2M (exactly $8,244,676) | UPLAY Online |
 | Yes, Your Grace | older | $19.99 | 12,571 87% | 377k | $7.5M (exactly $7,538,829) | Brave At Night |
 | Quarantine Zone: The Last Check | $19.99 | 11,827 81% | 355k | $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) | Brigada Games | |
 | The Wandering Village | $29.99 | 7,734 91% | 232k | $7.0M (exactly $6,958,280) | Stray Fawn Studio | |
 | The Guild 3 | older | $29.99 | 7,120 60% | 214k | $6.4M (exactly $6,405,864) | Purple Lamp, GolemLabs |
 | Project Hospital | older | $24.99 | 8,387 89% | 252k | $6.3M (exactly $6,287,734) | Oxymoron Games |
 | Sengoku Dynasty | $29.99 | 6,592 74% | 198k | $5.9M (exactly $5,930,822) | Superkami | |
 | Cash Cleaner Simulator | $19.99 | 7,334 92% | 220k | $4.4M (exactly $4,398,200) | Mind Control Games | |
 | Tiny Bookshop | $19.99 | 6,967 96% | 209k | $4.2M (exactly $4,178,110) | neoludic games | |
 | School Days | $14.99 | 6,023 77% | 181k | $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) | 白雨工作室 | |
 | BidKing | $2.99 | 22,238 33% | 667k | $2.0M (exactly $1,994,749) | MindSurge Network & Games | |
 | Roadside Research | · EA | $14.99 | 3,991 85% | 120k | $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) | Cybernetic Walrus |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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