Do I ship it?

GamesMMORPGMMORPG + Simulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Simulation MMORPG?

MMORPG + Simulation

Only 11 developers shipped a paid Simulation MMORPG 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, MMO98, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 6 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 84 more are announced, ×12 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×0.9 the market's $1.3k for a 10 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $510; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×80 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 84 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 60% on the market, 84 announced, ×12 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
MMORPG + Simulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.9k → $9.9k → $1.3k → $1.2k (still earning) → $9.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for MMORPG + Simulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $505 (exactly $505)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,529)
Top 5% $107k (exactly $107,157)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 146
Announced 84
Effort 10 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 57%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

MMORPG
effort 10 / 10 · low · persistent world servers and a live economy
Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
10 / 10 · studio only
Systems
MMORPG, Simulation
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 761 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $510, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $510. 8 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 84 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×12 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + LootPoor odds8 devs · median $253k · 57 announced
  2. + TradingPoor odds6 devs · median $206k · 42 announced
  3. + SandboxPoor odds15 devs · median $144k · 107 announced
  4. + Dungeon CrawlerPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  5. + CraftingPoor odds25 devs · median $111k · 155 announced
  6. + MagicPoor odds11 devs · median $111k · 109 announced
  7. + Online Co-OpPoor odds15 devs · median $65k · 130 announced
  8. + FantasyPoor odds27 devs · median $61k · 232 announced
  9. + Class-BasedPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  10. + Open WorldPoor odds33 devs · median $52k · 252 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds28 devs · median $52k · 217 announced
  12. + ExplorationPoor odds24 devs · median $52k · 213 announced

All 71 pairs on the MMORPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Naval Action older $19.99 10,187 52% 306k $6.1M (exactly $6,109,144) Bermuda Computer Club
Dark and Light · EA older $17.99 10,577 51% 317k $5.7M (exactly $5,708,407) Snail Games USA
Life is Feudal: Your Own older $19.99 8,804 65% 264k $5.3M (exactly $5,279,759) Bitbox Ltd.
Day of Dragons · EA older $19.99 6,278 68% 188k $3.8M (exactly $3,764,917) Beawesome Games
Next Day: Survival older $9.99 8,623 62% 259k $2.6M (exactly $2,584,313) SOFF Games
Boundless older $19.99 1,611 73% 48k $966k (exactly $966,117) Monumental, LLC
Initial Drift Online older $4.99 3,206 77% 96k $480k (exactly $479,938) RewindApp
Draconia · EA older $19.99 798 64% 24k $479k (exactly $478,561) Draconia Dev Team
Paw Patrol: On A Roll! older $29.99 345 84% 10k $310k (exactly $310,396) Torus Games
Xsyon - Prelude · EA older $29.99 307 69% 9.2k $276k (exactly $276,208) Notorious Games
MMO98 $6.99 511 69% 15k $107k (exactly $107,157) BiteMe Games
Adventure Land - The Code MMORPG $14.99 144 84% 4.3k $65k (exactly $64,757) Wizard
Wild Alone $10.99 38 47% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,529) Wild Alone 21
Upgradia · EA $9.99 32 65% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) Mytharia
City of Cats · EA $14.99 3 66% 90 $1.3k (exactly $1,349) Screaming Cat Studios
猎人修仙传 Hunter Immortal $7.99 5 20% 150 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) blues
Mythic Manager · EA $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Oracle Algorithms
Your Ex $0.99 17 94% 510 $505 (exactly $505) workflowstd
Earth Online · EA $1.99 8 62% 240 $478 (exactly $478) Galaxy Craft
KunlunWonderland $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) He WenYuan

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