Do I ship it?

GamesManagementManagement + Romance

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Romance Management game?

Management + Romance

Of 85 developers who shipped a Romance Management 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.. 148 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $7.9k, ×13 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $930k, ×1496 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 148 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 60% on the market, 148 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Romance
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 85
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $23k → $21k → $37k → $16k → $7.4k → $7.9k → $2.9k (still earning) → $6.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Romance: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 85
Bottom 30% $2.0k (exactly $1,973)
Median $7.9k (exactly $7,907)
Top 25% $43k (exactly $42,906)
Top 5% $940k (exactly $939,730)
Developers, 2 yr 85
Released games 218
Announced 148
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 60% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Romance
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Dating Sim, RPG
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 20,847 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.0k, median $7.9k, 1 in 4 over $42k, 1 in 20 over $930k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 6 in 10 of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 148 games are announced against 47 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Potionomics older $24.99 6,973 90% 209k $5.2M (exactly $5,227,658) Voracious Games
Summer Clover older $17.99 9,062 97% 272k $4.9M (exactly $4,890,761) Connection
Fabledom older $20.99 6,772 85% 203k $4.3M (exactly $4,264,328) Grenaa Games
小白兔电商~Bunny e-Shop older $10.99 9,176 93% 275k $3.0M (exactly $3,025,327) 落叶岛项目组, 橘子班
Idol Manager older $19.99 3,777 87% 113k $2.3M (exactly $2,265,067) Glitch Pitch
FEMBOY FUTA HOUSE $14.99 4,131 89% 124k $1.9M (exactly $1,857,711) IT'S A TRAP
Sovereign Tower $19.99 3,087 93% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,851,274) WILD WITS GAMES
Crossroads Inn Anniversary Edition older $14.99 3,579 55% 107k $1.6M (exactly $1,609,476) Klabater
Matchmaking Inc. $8.99 5,773 87% 173k $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) Wave Games
Quickie: A Love Hotel Story $19.99 2,081 95% 62k $1.2M (exactly $1,247,976) Oppai Games
Football Life Simulator · EA $19.99 1,567 68% 47k $940k (exactly $939,730) Ludu Arts
Sani Yang's Laboratory $24.99 1,073 98% 32k $804k (exactly $804,428) TALESSHOP Co., Ltd.
To Pixelia $14.99 1,194 73% 36k $537k (exactly $536,942) Pixeduo Studios
Maid Cafe on Electric Street $18.99 595 82% 18k $339k (exactly $338,972) Adventurer's Tavern
Mirai's Midnight Stream $15.99 627 84% 19k $301k (exactly $300,772) Fox House
Love n Life: Happy Student $9.99 719 81% 22k $215k (exactly $215,484) Reborn Entertainment

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