Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + Time Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Management Life Sim?

Life Sim + Time Management

Of 392 developers who shipped a Time Management 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.. 624 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×6.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $380k, ×811 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 624 games are announced against 256 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 624 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + Time Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 392
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.7k → $20k → $5.8k → $7.8k → $11k → $4.8k → $3.0k (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + Time Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 392
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,994)
Top 25% $30k (exactly $29,617)
Top 5% $385k (exactly $385,198)
Developers, 2 yr 392
Released games 763
Announced 624
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 40% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Time Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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, Time Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Immersive Sim
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 54,173 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $29k, 1 in 20 over $380k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 6 in 10 of the 164 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 624 games are announced against 256 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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
Volcano Princess older $10.99 45,019 97% 1.4M $15M (exactly $14,842,764) 养蛋人 Egg Hatcher
Big Ambitions $25.99 14,003 92% 420k $11M (exactly $10,918,139) Hovgaard Games
Youtubers Life older $19.99 13,748 77% 412k $8.2M (exactly $8,244,676) UPLAY Online
Potionomics older $24.99 6,973 90% 209k $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) Voracious Games
The Tenants older $19.99 7,071 79% 212k $4.2M (exactly $4,240,479) EndGameLoop Games
Tiny Bookshop $19.99 6,967 96% 209k $4.2M (exactly $4,178,110) neoludic games
Kebab Chefs! - Restaurant Simulator $17.99 7,019 83% 211k $3.8M (exactly $3,788,154) Biotech Gameworks
Farm Together 2 $25.99 4,456 93% 134k $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) Milkstone Studios
Magical Princess $14.99 7,636 96% 229k $3.4M (exactly $3,433,909) Neotro Inc., MAGI Inc.
BOOK OF HOURS older $24.99 4,129 89% 124k $3.1M (exactly $3,095,511) Weather Factory
School Days $14.99 6,023 77% 181k $2.7M (exactly $2,708,543) 白雨工作室
Recycling Center Simulator $19.99 2,594 84% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,555,622) Balas Games
Discounty $19.99 2,322 82% 70k $1.4M (exactly $1,392,503) Crinkle Cut Games
Bloomtown: A Different Story $24.99 1,428 85% 43k $1.1M (exactly $1,070,572) Lazy Bear Games, Different Sense Games
Office Life $19.99 1,725 88% 52k $1.0M (exactly $1,034,482) LeiYun Games

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