Do I ship it?

GamesLife SimLife Sim + War

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a War Life Sim?

Life Sim + War

Only 12 developers shipped a War 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, Medieval Blacksmith, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.6k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $350k, ×564 the market median. Revenue is up 230% on the market; 22 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 230% on the market, 22 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim + War
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $13k → $6.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim + War: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $3.1k (exactly $3,148)
Median $6.6k (exactly $6,594)
Top 25% $131k (exactly $131,290)
Top 5% $354k (exactly $354,423)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 35
Announced 22
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 230% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
War
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Life Sim
Price point
$11.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,615 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.2k, median $6.6k, 1 in 4 over $130k, 1 in 20 over $350k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.2k. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Life Sim with a different setting or mood, 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
Crusader Kings III older $49.99 94,615 90% 2.8M $142M (exactly $141,894,116) Paradox Development Studio
Bellwright · EA older $29.99 20,130 80% 604k $18M (exactly $18,110,961) Donkey Crew
Medieval Blacksmith $19.99 591 79% 18k $354k (exactly $354,423) OGO Play
Mech Mechanic Simulator older $19.99 538 61% 16k $323k (exactly $322,639) Polyslash
My Child Lebensborn Remastered older $7.99 1,299 96% 39k $311k (exactly $311,370) Teknopilot AS, Sarepta Studio AS
The End of History · EA $28.00 366 68% 11k $307k (exactly $307,440) Tatamibeya
Korea Dynasty (조선메타실록) · EA older $23.99 267 72% 8.0k $192k (exactly $192,160) Happy Daram Inc.
Monarch : Medieval Remastered $11.99 365 80% 11k $131k (exactly $131,290) Mr.Lordy
Medic: Pacific War · EA $9.99 143 70% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) Hypnotic Ants
Project Of Cooling The Earth older $4.99 120 72% 3.6k $18k (exactly $17,964) 人鱼工作室
Dictator Simulator: Gradnar $4.99 84 97% 2.5k $13k (exactly $12,575) GortagonGame
Towerfolk · EA $10.99 20 70% 600 $6.6k (exactly $6,594) 99 Interactive
Kebabstar 🌯⭐ · EA $14.99 14 78% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) Zeybek
Back to Dust - Hold it Together $6.99 17 100% 510 $3.6k (exactly $3,565) KomBits Game Studio
Beggar to Emperor · EA $14.99 7 71% 210 $3.1k (exactly $3,148) We Like Games
Pinevale Settlements · EA $7.99 8 62% 240 $1.9k (exactly $1,918) Kinetic Quasar Games

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