Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi Life Sim?
Life Sim + Sci-fi
Of 76 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 120 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.8k, ×12 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×3778 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 120 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.8k (exactly $5,753) |
| Top 25% | $84k (exactly $83,916) |
| Top 5% | $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 76 |
| Released games | 167 |
| Announced | 120 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.90 |
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 flat on the market, supply 10% 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.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, RPG
- Price point
- $8.90 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.90.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 34,926 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.6k. 6 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 120 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action 2016 · $15M 
Two Point Museum 2025 · $8.7M 
The Sims™ 2 Legacy Collection 2025 · $4.3M 
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist 2022 · $3.3M 
Ostranauts 2026 · $1.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action | older | $14.99 | 33,838 97% | 1.0M | $15M (exactly $15,216,949) | Sukeban Games |
| | Two Point Museum | $29.99 | 9,626 95% | 289k | $8.7M (exactly $8,660,512) | Two Point Studios | |
| | The Sims™ 2 Legacy Collection | $29.99 | 4,759 72% | 143k | $4.3M (exactly $4,281,672) | MAXIS | |
| | I Was a Teenage Exocolonist | older | $24.99 | 4,443 96% | 133k | $3.3M (exactly $3,330,917) | Northway Games |
| | Ostranauts | $19.99 | 3,137 77% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,881,259) | Blue Bottle Games | |
 | Roadside Research | · EA | $14.99 | 3,991 85% | 120k | $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) | Cybernetic Walrus |
 | ANEURISM IV | $9.99 | 5,686 75% | 171k | $1.7M (exactly $1,704,094) | Vellocet | |
 | Chef RPG | · EA older | $19.99 | 2,593 87% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,555,022) | World 2 Studio |
 | Love is All Around 2 | $9.99 | 3,749 83% | 112k | $1.1M (exactly $1,123,575) | intiny | |
 | 60 Parsecs! | older | $9.99 | 3,310 90% | 99k | $992k (exactly $992,007) | Robot Gentleman |
 | S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH | $13.99 | 2,324 90% | 70k | $975k (exactly $975,383) | U0U Games | |
 | Subside | $24.99 | 513 96% | 15k | $385k (exactly $384,596) | A2D Software | |
 | Ecosystem | $19.99 | 601 76% | 18k | $360k (exactly $360,420) | Tom Johnson | |
 | One Lonely Outpost | $19.99 | 540 58% | 16k | $324k (exactly $323,838) | indie.io |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.