Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + Tabletop

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tabletop Life Sim?

Life Sim + Tabletop

Of 31 developers who shipped a Tabletop 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.. 40 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 15 developers shipped in the last year and 40 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 40 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + Tabletop
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $24k → $838 → $32k → $449 → $59 → $150 (still earning) → $8.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + Tabletop: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $8.2k (exactly $8,234)
Top 5% $533k (exactly $532,534)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 70
Announced 40
Effort 4 / 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 down 50% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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.

Life Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Tabletop
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Life Sim, Tabletop; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Immersive Sim
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Relaxing, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 3,468 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $360, 1 in 4 over $8.2k, 1 in 20 over $530k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds38 devs · median $54k · 21 announced
  2. + MinigamesStrong odds20 devs · median $11k · 19 announced
  3. + MusicStrong odds28 devs · median $9.2k · 20 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair144 devs · median $19k · 153 announced
  5. + Football (Soccer)Fair10 devs · median $10k · 16 announced
  6. + FaithFair11 devs · median $9.4k · 13 announced
  7. + Artificial IntelligenceFair92 devs · median $7.3k · 121 announced
  8. + GamblingFair28 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + DemonsFair16 devs · median $2.4k · 22 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair162 devs · median $2.4k · 219 announced
  11. + LogicFair70 devs · median $1.5k · 74 announced
  12. + ZombiesFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 34 announced

All 173 pairs on the Life Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BOOK OF HOURS older $24.99 4,129 89% 124k $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) Weather Factory
THE GAME OF LIFE 2 older $12.49 3,702 78% 111k $1.4M (exactly $1,387,139) Marmalade Game Studio Ltd
Timeflow – Life Sim · EA older $14.99 1,379 91% 41k $620k (exactly $620,136) Digital Geckos
Card Shop Simulator Multiplayer $11.99 1,609 82% 48k $579k (exactly $578,757) ShaneGame
Walk of Life $19.99 888 94% 27k $533k (exactly $532,534) Porcelain Fortress
The Test: Final Revelation older $1.99 5,286 97% 159k $316k (exactly $315,574) Randumb Studios
Casino Simulator · EA older $9.99 786 81% 24k $236k (exactly $235,564) Lodos Games
Feed the Scorchpot $14.99 371 87% 11k $167k (exactly $166,839) Moravian
Exotica: Petshop Simulator older $7.99 482 81% 14k $116k (exactly $115,535) Konrul Game
Artist Life Simulator older $19.99 173 79% 5.2k $104k (exactly $103,748) Interactive Fate
Lower? Higher! $9.99 146 67% 4.4k $44k (exactly $43,756) Unplugged Studio
Table Battle Simulator · EA $12.99 85 74% 2.6k $33k (exactly $33,124) Kiki Games
Casino Island Simulator · EA $8.99 120 61% 3.6k $32k (exactly $32,364) Clap Games
Casino Simulator 2024 $5.99 119 69% 3.6k $21k (exactly $21,384) METAGAR
AI Faith: Compute [>_AIFC] $4.99 55 81% 1.7k $8.2k (exactly $8,234) Beneloop.ai
Milo's Tiny Fish Pond $4.99 43 86% 1.3k $6.4k (exactly $6,437) MMUnit
Ramen Simulator $5.99 32 84% 960 $5.8k (exactly $5,750) SECRET CHARACTER, HaconN

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