Games › Management › Management + Shop Keeper
Should I ship a Shop Keeper Management game?
Management + Shop Keeper
Of 370 developers who shipped a Shop Keeper 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.. 707 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.8k, ×9.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $520k, ×835 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 707 games are announced against 316 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $898 (exactly $898) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) |
| Top 25% | $50k (exactly $50,050) |
| Top 5% | $525k (exactly $524,625) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 370 |
| Released games | 449 |
| Announced | 707 |
| 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 down 85% on the market, supply 425% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Management, Shop Keeper; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Life Sim
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Relaxing
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 94,704 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $900. 5 in 10 of the 65 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 707 games are announced against 316 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + WesternFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + RhythmFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
Comparable games
TCG Card Shop Simulator 2026 · $28M 
Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator 2026 · $6.0M 
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs 2026 · $5.5M 
Tiny Bookshop 2025 · $4.2M 
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale 2010 · $4.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | TCG Card Shop Simulator | $19.99 | 47,357 96% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $28,399,993) | OPNeon Games | |
| | Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator | $19.90 | 10,118 95% | 304k | $6.0M (exactly $6,040,446) | Blood Pact Studios | |
| | ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs | $19.99 | 9,209 95% | 276k | $5.5M (exactly $5,522,637) | Mandragora | |
| | Tiny Bookshop | $19.99 | 6,967 96% | 209k | $4.2M (exactly $4,178,110) | neoludic games | |
| | Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale | older | $19.99 | 6,684 95% | 201k | $4.0M (exactly $4,008,395) | EasyGameStation |
 | Storage Hunter Simulator | $24.99 | 3,866 78% | 116k | $2.9M (exactly $2,898,340) | Raccoons Studio | |
 | Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault | $29.99 | 3,146 80% | 94k | $2.8M (exactly $2,830,456) | Digital Sun | |
 | Grocery Store Simulator | $14.99 | 5,337 90% | 160k | $2.4M (exactly $2,400,049) | EXPERIMENT ONE | |
 | King of Retail | older | $25.99 | 2,982 88% | 89k | $2.3M (exactly $2,325,065) | Freaking Games |
 | Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 | older | $14.99 | 4,018 91% | 121k | $1.8M (exactly $1,806,895) | One More Time |
 | Roadside Research | · EA | $14.99 | 3,991 85% | 120k | $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) | Cybernetic Walrus |
 | Aeruta | $19.99 | 2,391 94% | 72k | $1.4M (exactly $1,433,883) | FromDawn Games | |
 | Discounty | $19.99 | 2,322 82% | 70k | $1.4M (exactly $1,392,503) | Crinkle Cut Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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