Do I ship it?

GamesShop KeeperShop Keeper + Modern

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Modern-Day Shop Keeper?

Shop Keeper + Modern

Of 27 developers who shipped a Modern-Day Shop Keeper 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.. 28 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.2k, ×6.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $900. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 28 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.8 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 28 announced, ×1.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shop Keeper + Modern
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.0k → $1.3k (still earning) → $4.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shop Keeper + Modern: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $3.2k (exactly $3,236)
Top 25% $27k (exactly $26,973)
Top 5% $65k (exactly $65,335)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 34
Announced 28
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 1150% 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.

Shop Keeper
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Shop Keeper; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Simulation, Immersive Sim
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,106 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $3.2k, 1 in 4 over $26k, 1 in 20 over $65k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 28 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds101 devs · median $13k · 122 announced
  2. + HorrorFair32 devs · median $5.1k · 55 announced
  3. + Psychological HorrorFair26 devs · median $5.1k · 44 announced
  4. + StrategyFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  5. + LogicFair20 devs · median $1.5k · 27 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair56 devs · median $1.3k · 89 announced
  7. + Strategy RPGFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  8. + NaturePoor odds32 devs · median $31k · 59 announced
  9. + BuildingPoor odds140 devs · median $16k · 209 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds44 devs · median $16k · 96 announced
  11. + Co-opPoor odds40 devs · median $13k · 96 announced
  12. + CollectathonPoor odds44 devs · median $12k · 75 announced

All 48 pairs on the Shop Keeper page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
LOVE Hotel Simulator 🏩 $14.99 241 70% 7.2k $108k (exactly $108,378) Pocket Rocket Studio 🚀
Blind Box Shop Simulator $9.99 218 87% 6.5k $65k (exactly $65,335) NovaraGames
Terminal One $19.99 96 66% 2.9k $58k (exactly $57,571) Terminal Reality
Vending Dokan!: Kozy Kiosk · EA $11.99 150 90% 4.5k $54k (exactly $53,955) Aftabi Games
Beauty Store Simulator $9.99 176 86% 5.3k $53k (exactly $52,747) NovaraGames
Tattoo Tycoon $29.99 37 62% 1.1k $33k (exactly $33,289) CrazyBunch
Model Kit Shop Simulator $9.99 90 87% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,973) Tenacity Games
Kimbap Heaven Simulator · EA $14.99 28 85% 840 $13k (exactly $12,592) Joyful Jo
PC Store Simulator $9.99 40 35% 1.2k $12k (exactly $11,988) CS Forge
My Corp Cargo Simulator · EA older $4.99 71 66% 2.1k $11k (exactly $10,629) No King Interactive
Photographer's Life Simulator $9.99 30 93% 900 $9.0k (exactly $8,991) Poisonic Studio

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