Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Underground
Should I ship an Underground Life Sim?
Life Sim + Underground
Only 9 developers shipped an Underground Life Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Prison Escape Simulator: Dig Out, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $390, ×0.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $830k, ×1761 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 30 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $390 (exactly $390) |
| Top 25% | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) |
| Top 5% | $837k (exactly $836,553) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 25 |
| Announced | 30 |
| 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 90% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- Underground
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim
- Price point
- $7.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 12,592 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 30 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different setting or mood, 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
Mr. Prepper 2021 · $2.9M 
Prison Escape Simulator: Dig Out 2025 · $837k 
Trolley Problem, Inc. 2022 · $417k 
Brno Transit 2026 · $159k 
Escort Simulator 2022 · $129k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mr. Prepper | older | $19.99 | 4,795 81% | 144k | $2.9M (exactly $2,875,562) | Rejected Games |
| | Prison Escape Simulator: Dig Out | $7.99 | 3,490 85% | 105k | $837k (exactly $836,553) | Digital Melody | |
| | Trolley Problem, Inc. | older | $10.99 | 1,265 67% | 38k | $417k (exactly $417,070) | ReadGraves |
| | Brno Transit | $8.99 | 589 85% | 18k | $159k (exactly $158,853) | Spytihněv | |
| | Escort Simulator | older | $19.99 | 215 61% | 6.5k | $129k (exactly $128,935) | Somavision Games |
 | Hashiriya Drifter-Online Drift Racing Multiplayer (DRIFT/DRAG/RACING) | older | $1.99 | 1,337 68% | 40k | $80k (exactly $79,819) | Midnight Games |
 | Egyptian Senet | older | $9.99 | 200 81% | 6.0k | $60k (exactly $59,940) | Ezzat Studios |
 | Shokudo Underworld | older | $5.99 | 266 83% | 8.0k | $48k (exactly $47,800) | Miluku Inc. |
 | Lust Bunker [18+] | older | $9.99 | 130 66% | 3.9k | $39k (exactly $38,961) | BanzaiProject |
 | I live under your house. | older | $1.99 | 305 80% | 9.2k | $18k (exactly $18,208) | SpoocleMacBoogle |
 | Dig & Deal | $9.99 | 29 75% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | ToYa Games | |
 | Metro Mini Market Simulator | $3.99 | 49 69% | 1.5k | $5.9k (exactly $5,865) | Altai Entertainment | |
 | Quiet Hour | $12.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $390 (exactly $390) | FAB | |
 | Stolen Legacy Rise of The Fallen | $2.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Mojkaw | |
 | Hoarders Realm | · EA | $14.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Taylor Robinson |
 | Moon Shop Simulator | $7.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Hakkah Studio | |
 | Cheap Tattoo | · EA | $2.83 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Cheap Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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