Do I ship it?

GamesStealthStealth + Life Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Life Sim Stealth game?

Stealth + Life Sim

Of 25 developers who shipped a Life Sim Stealth 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.. 58 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $680k, ×1095 the market median. Revenue is up 180% on the market; 58 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 180% on the market, 58 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Stealth + Life Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $269 → $223k → $330k → $1.9k → $33k (still earning) → $599 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Stealth + Life Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 25% $43k (exactly $42,857)
Top 5% $688k (exactly $687,856)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 62
Announced 58
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 up 180% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Stealth
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Stealth, Life Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Immersive Sim
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 13,135 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $42k, 1 in 20 over $680k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 6 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Stealth with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair7 devs · median $1.3k · 12 announced
  2. + World War IIPoor odds11 devs · median $43k · 14 announced
  3. + LGBTQ+Poor odds19 devs · median $30k · 30 announced
  4. + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds8 devs · median $27k · 31 announced
  5. + WargamePoor odds10 devs · median $21k · 39 announced
  6. + DinosaursPoor odds10 devs · median $17k · 23 announced
  7. + Gun CustomizationPoor odds20 devs · median $13k · 63 announced
  8. + Base BuildingPoor odds21 devs · median $13k · 57 announced
  9. + Cold WarPoor odds7 devs · median $10k · 31 announced
  10. + HistoricalPoor odds32 devs · median $9.6k · 76 announced
  11. + MilitaryPoor odds43 devs · median $8.5k · 122 announced
  12. + WarPoor odds30 devs · median $7.6k · 89 announced

All 159 pairs on the Stealth page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Crime Scene Cleaner older $29.99 32,469 98% 974k $29M (exactly $29,212,359) President Studio
Crime Simulator $14.99 6,244 82% 187k $2.8M (exactly $2,807,927) CookieDev
Used Cars Simulator · EA $19.99 1,147 79% 34k $688k (exactly $687,856) DreamWay Games
Anonymous Hacker Simulator older $19.99 741 85% 22k $444k (exactly $444,378) Sicarius
Hard Time III older $14.99 929 85% 28k $418k (exactly $417,771) MDickie
ORDER 13 $8.99 1,224 87% 37k $330k (exactly $330,113) Cybernetic Walrus
SchoolBoy Runaway $1.99 3,731 90% 112k $223k (exactly $222,741) Linked Squad
Sex Trainer's Diary: Hidden Kink $19.99 184 70% 5.5k $110k (exactly $110,345) 老二打鐵舖, 072 Localize, NOVA CONCEPT
Embarrassed Shina-chan~ the Naked Wandering College Girl older $19.99 167 60% 5.0k $100k (exactly $100,150) かわいそうなのは抜ける
SERIES MAKERS TYCOON older $4.99 514 71% 15k $77k (exactly $76,946) CREW Studio Krüger UG
ZOMBUTCHER: Monster Business Simulator $12.99 135 69% 4.1k $53k (exactly $52,610) ODIUS
Medic: Pacific War · EA $9.99 143 70% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) Hypnotic Ants
The Brewline $9.99 110 84% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,967) Alcora Games
The Sushi House $4.99 102 81% 3.1k $15k (exactly $15,269) Noirbit
Mushroom Simulator Co-op $2.99 115 91% 3.5k $10k (exactly $10,316) Nimble Starship

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.