Games › Sports › Sports + Life Sim
Should I ship a Life Sim Sports game?
Sports + Life Sim
Of 56 developers who shipped a Life Sim Sports 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.. 75 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.0k, ×6.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×185 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 75 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.0k (exactly $4,046) |
| Top 25% | $24k (exactly $24,284) |
| Top 5% | $116k (exactly $115,984) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 56 |
| Released games | 171 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 25% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sports, Life Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Management
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 2,102 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 8 in 10 of the 40 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sports with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds
- + CraftingFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + SandboxFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + FMVFair
- + BikesFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Choices MatterFair
Comparable games
Ultimate Fishing Simulator® 2018 · $5.0M 
Punch Club 2: Fast Forward 2023 · $2.3M 
Gym Simulator 24 2024 · $986k 
Esports Life Tycoon 2020 · $363k 
Fishing Adventure 2019 · $221k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ultimate Fishing Simulator® | older | $19.99 | 8,256 89% | 248k | $5.0M (exactly $4,951,123) | Ultimate Games S.A., Bit Golem |
| | Punch Club 2: Fast Forward | older | $19.99 | 3,808 81% | 114k | $2.3M (exactly $2,283,658) | Lazy Bear Games |
| | Gym Simulator 24 | older | $12.99 | 2,531 84% | 76k | $986k (exactly $986,331) | Red Axe Games |
| | Esports Life Tycoon | older | $19.99 | 605 61% | 18k | $363k (exactly $362,818) | UPLAY Online |
| | Fishing Adventure | older | $4.99 | 1,479 85% | 44k | $221k (exactly $221,406) | MasterCode |
 | Russian Life Simulator | older | $0.99 | 7,156 88% | 215k | $213k (exactly $212,533) | GosDev Production |
 | Spikair Volleyball | · EA older | $19.99 | 303 93% | 9.1k | $182k (exactly $181,709) | Choc Abyss |
 | Westview Academy - Season 1 | $12.99 | 419 73% | 13k | $163k (exactly $163,284) | TakoYuh | |
 | Virtual Hunter | $24.99 | 173 71% | 5.2k | $130k (exactly $129,698) | Korpi Games Oy | |
 | Esports History | $9.99 | 387 77% | 12k | $116k (exactly $115,984) | Quantum Gear Studios | |
 | Rally Mechanic Simulator | $17.99 | 195 69% | 5.9k | $105k (exactly $105,241) | Play2Chill S.A., Atomic Jelly | |
 | Under Par Golf Architect | $19.99 | 158 81% | 4.7k | $95k (exactly $94,753) | Broken Arms Games | |
 | 我的钓鱼世界 | · EA | $14.99 | 203 60% | 6.1k | $91k (exactly $91,289) | 华幸 |
 | CFS (Chinese Football Simulator) | $9.99 | 290 67% | 8.7k | $87k (exactly $86,913) | 悟空实验室 | |
 | Sports Card Shop Simulator | · EA | $12.99 | 155 92% | 4.7k | $60k (exactly $60,404) | OverPowered Team |
 | Tennis Manager 26 | $39.99 | 46 73% | 1.4k | $55k (exactly $55,186) | Rebound | |
 | Tennis Manager 25 | $19.99 | 76 68% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $45,577) | Rebound |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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