Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Shop Keeper
Should I ship a Shop Keeper Life Sim?
Life Sim + Shop Keeper
Of 250 developers who shipped a Shop Keeper 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.. 459 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.6k, ×14 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $570k, ×1204 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 459 games are announced against 219 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.6k (exactly $6,593) |
| Top 25% | $53k (exactly $52,610) |
| Top 5% | $572k (exactly $571,802) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 250 |
| Released games | 307 |
| Announced | 459 |
| 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 90% on the market, supply 510% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Shop Keeper
- 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, Shop Keeper; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Immersive Sim
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 96,736 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 3 in 10 of the 38 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 459 games are announced against 219 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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
TCG Card Shop Simulator 2026 · $28M 
Tiny Bookshop 2025 · $4.2M 
School Days 2026 · $2.7M 
BidKing 2026 · $2.0M 
Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 2024 · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | TCG Card Shop Simulator | $19.99 | 47,357 96% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $28,399,993) | OPNeon 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 | |
| | Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 | older | $14.99 | 4,018 91% | 121k | $1.8M (exactly $1,806,895) | One More Time |
 | Roadside Research | · EA | $14.99 | 3,991 85% | 120k | $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) | Cybernetic Walrus |
 | Discounty | $19.99 | 2,322 82% | 70k | $1.4M (exactly $1,392,503) | Crinkle Cut Games | |
 | Cat Cafe Manager | older | $19.99 | 2,174 87% | 65k | $1.3M (exactly $1,303,748) | Roost Games |
 | Teddy's Haven | · EA | $14.99 | 2,800 95% | 84k | $1.3M (exactly $1,259,160) | Teddy Bear Games LLC |
 | Trash Goblin | $19.99 | 1,574 87% | 47k | $944k (exactly $943,928) | Spilt Milk Studios Ltd | |
 | Megastore Simulator | · EA | $13.99 | 1,968 93% | 59k | $826k (exactly $825,970) | Yolo Games Studio |
 | Bookshop Simulator | $15.99 | 1,496 92% | 45k | $718k (exactly $717,631) | Blep Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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