Do I ship it?

GamesMedical SimMedical Sim + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Medical Sim?

Medical Sim + Puzzle

Only 17 developers shipped a Puzzle Medical 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, Do No Harm, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 27 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.1k, ×13 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.9k. Revenue is up 1462555% on the market; 27 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 12.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 1462555% on the market, 27 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Medical Sim + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $2.4k → $8.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Medical Sim + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $1.9k (exactly $1,888)
Median $6.1k (exactly $6,090)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $17,530)
Top 5% $430k (exactly $429,811)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 41
Announced 27
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 365% 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.

Medical Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Medical Sim, Puzzle; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Choices Matter, Multiple Endings, Point & Click
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 1,716 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.9k, median $6.1k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.9k. 27 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Medical Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SandboxPoor odds11 devs · median $37k · 25 announced
  2. + BuildingPoor odds14 devs · median $11k · 21 announced
  3. + Point & ClickPoor odds22 devs · median $8.2k · 26 announced
  4. + Immersive SimPoor odds18 devs · median $6.0k · 53 announced
  5. + EconomyPoor odds14 devs · median $5.9k · 12 announced
  6. + Life SimPoor odds32 devs · median $4.5k · 42 announced
  7. + Choices MatterPoor odds33 devs · median $4.2k · 43 announced
  8. + Visual NovelPoor odds16 devs · median $4.2k · 14 announced
  9. + Resource ManagementPoor odds20 devs · median $3.9k · 33 announced
  10. + ManagementPoor odds31 devs · median $3.8k · 49 announced
  11. + SimulationPoor odds73 devs · median $3.6k · 132 announced
  12. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds8 devs · median $3.6k · 12 announced

All 20 pairs on the Medical Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Surgeon Simulator older $9.99 13,796 82% 414k $4.1M (exactly $4,134,661) Bossa Studios
Surgeon Simulator 2 older $19.99 2,033 44% 61k $1.2M (exactly $1,219,190) Bossa Studios
Big Pharma older $24.99 1,443 78% 43k $1.1M (exactly $1,081,817) Twice Circled
Do No Harm $15.99 896 74% 27k $430k (exactly $429,811) Darts Games
Creature Lab older $19.99 343 51% 10k $206k (exactly $205,697) Image Power S.A.
Sanatorium - A Mental Asylum Simulator $12.99 208 59% 6.2k $81k (exactly $81,058) Zeitglas
Angel Engine $7.99 303 80% 9.1k $73k (exactly $72,629) HMS Studios, Black Lantern Collective
Healing Spree older $14.99 83 51% 2.5k $37k (exactly $37,325) Paro
Prescribe and Pray $11.99 71 70% 2.1k $26k (exactly $25,539) Nuclear Rabbits
Plague M.D. older $5.99 134 73% 4.0k $24k (exactly $24,080) CosCom Art Group
Wound Man $8.99 65 93% 2.0k $18k (exactly $17,530) Aspidochelone Studios
MALPRAXIS™ $8.99 35 48% 1.1k $9.4k (exactly $9,440) Sunscorched Studios
Necrologium $9.99 29 89% 870 $8.7k (exactly $8,691) Bob's Cult Studio
Alien Morgue $7.99 34 94% 1.0k $8.2k (exactly $8,150) BurGum Games
Symptoms of Infection · EA $3.50 58 89% 1.7k $6.1k (exactly $6,090) ORB Research & Broadcasting
Cure for Danmaku Synd $6.99 17 100% 510 $3.6k (exactly $3,565) ToAge

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