Do I ship it?

GamesPolitical SimPolitical Sim + Modern

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Modern-Day Political Sim?

Political Sim + Modern

Only 19 developers shipped a Modern-Day Political 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, Geo-Political Simulator 5, 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, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $700k, ×1481 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 27 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 27 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Political Sim + Modern
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $351k → $13k → $34k → $898 → $1.5k (still earning) → $718 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Political Sim + Modern: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $718 (exactly $718)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 25% $34k (exactly $33,728)
Top 5% $704k (exactly $703,683)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 51
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 down 90% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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.

Political Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Modern
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Political Sim; all of the top 25% also carry Grand Strategy, Management, Strategy
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 61% positive over 1,872 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $33k, 1 in 20 over $700k.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 27 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + DetectiveFair10 devs · median $9.9k · 15 announced
  2. + Psychological HorrorFair10 devs · median $4.8k · 16 announced
  3. + IdlerFair20 devs · median $1.2k · 14 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair17 devs · median $832 · 16 announced
  5. + Board GameFair18 devs · median $600 · 13 announced
  6. + TabletopFair12 devs · median $600 · 12 announced
  7. + CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  8. + Sci-fiPoor odds24 devs · median $17k · 33 announced
  9. + FuturisticPoor odds16 devs · median $15k · 27 announced
  10. + 4XPoor odds29 devs · median $12k · 50 announced
  11. + Cold WarPoor odds15 devs · median $9.9k · 23 announced
  12. + BuildingPoor odds37 devs · median $9.6k · 83 announced

All 72 pairs on the Political Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Democracy 4 older $29.99 5,891 81% 177k $5.3M (exactly $5,300,133) Positech Games
Power & Revolution 2020 Edition older $49.99 769 63% 23k $1.2M (exactly $1,153,269) Eversim
Urbek City Builder older $18.99 1,830 89% 55k $1.0M (exactly $1,042,551) Fridus
SuperPower 3 older $29.99 982 10% 29k $884k (exactly $883,505) GolemLabs
Citystate II older $24.99 1,098 73% 33k $823k (exactly $823,171) Andy Sztark
Geo-Political Simulator 5 $59.99 391 34% 12k $704k (exactly $703,683) Eversim
Supreme Ruler Ultimate older $19.99 1,169 77% 35k $701k (exactly $701,049) BattleGoat Studios
Supreme Ruler 2030 older $29.99 532 65% 16k $479k (exactly $478,640) BattleGoat Studios
Geo-Political Simulator 2026 Edition $59.99 249 48% 7.5k $448k (exactly $448,125) Eversim
Realpolitiks II older $24.99 537 46% 16k $403k (exactly $402,589) Jujubee S.A.
Solar Nations 2 · EA $14.99 609 85% 18k $274k (exactly $273,867) Flomgus Games
Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond $24.99 253 39% 7.6k $190k (exactly $189,674) Jujubee
AfterWar $34.99 139 72% 4.2k $146k (exactly $145,908) Dmytro Lumen
Trade Conquest $14.99 75 69% 2.3k $34k (exactly $33,728) GrandPaw Games
Political Arena · EA $14.99 69 73% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,029) Wayside Press
Globalism · EA $29.99 17 52% 510 $15k (exactly $15,295) igelanium games
Hologuard $7.99 48 95% 1.4k $12k (exactly $11,506) illuCalab
Territorial Conquest $4.99 22 50% 660 $3.3k (exactly $3,293) Uğur CAN

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