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Should I ship a Science Life Sim?
Life Sim + Science
Of 28 developers who shipped a Science 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.. 32 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $11k, ×23 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $870k, ×1837 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 32 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $11k (exactly $10,782) |
| Top 25% | $180k (exactly $179,910) |
| Top 5% | $872k (exactly $872,427) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 62 |
| Announced | 32 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 85% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Sandbox
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Relaxing, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 19,844 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 3 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition 2025 · $10M 
WolfQuest: Classic 2025 · $1.3M 
The Sapling 2019 · EA · $1.0M 
Horsey Game 2026 · $872k 
Little Rocket Lab 2025 · $771k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition | $29.99 | 11,511 97% | 345k | $10M (exactly $10,356,447) | eduweb | |
| | WolfQuest: Classic | $29.99 | 1,401 90% | 42k | $1.3M (exactly $1,260,480) | eduweb | |
| | 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 | |
| | Little Rocket Lab | $19.99 | 1,286 90% | 39k | $771k (exactly $771,214) | Teenage Astronauts | |
 | Fish Game | older | $24.99 | 589 93% | 18k | $442k (exactly $441,573) | A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink… (A Shell in the Pit Games, Creative Ink 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 |
 | Monster Lab Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 505 70% | 15k | $197k (exactly $196,798) | Round 3 Studios |
 | Bugaboo Pocket | $19.99 | 300 86% | 9.0k | $180k (exactly $179,910) | Elytra Games | |
 | Nature & Life - Drunk On Nectar | $14.99 | 263 87% | 7.9k | $118k (exactly $118,271) | Venugopalan Sreedharan | |
 | Emergency Room Simulator | $24.99 | 154 43% | 4.6k | $115k (exactly $115,454) | Caipirinha Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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