Games › Trading › Trading + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Trading game?
Trading + Modern
Of 32 developers who shipped a Modern-Day Trading 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.. 51 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $11k, ×23 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $5.8M, ×12412 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 51 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
|---|---|
| Median | $11k (exactly $10,795) |
| Top 25% | $52k (exactly $52,052) |
| Top 5% | $5.9M (exactly $5,895,651) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 32 |
| Released games | 57 |
| Announced | 51 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Trading; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Economy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 31,835 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 5 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Trading with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + MiningFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + FlightPoor odds
- + SportsPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + PhysicsPoor odds
- + DrivingPoor odds
- + LootPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Car For Sale Simulator | $16.99 | 20,229 78% | 607k | $10M (exactly $10,310,721) | Red Axe Games | |
| | Car Dealer Simulator | $19.99 | 9,831 88% | 295k | $5.9M (exactly $5,895,651) | Garage Monkeys | |
| | Gym Simulator 24 | older | $12.99 | 2,531 84% | 76k | $986k (exactly $986,331) | Red Axe Games |
| | SuperPower 3 | older | $29.99 | 982 10% | 29k | $884k (exactly $883,505) | GolemLabs |
| | Geo-Political Simulator 5 | $59.99 | 391 34% | 12k | $704k (exactly $703,683) | Eversim | |
| | Industry Giant 4.0 | $24.99 | 506 33% | 15k | $379k (exactly $379,348) | Don VS Dodo | |
| | GOAL! The Club Manager | · EA older | $29.99 | 364 33% | 11k | $327k (exactly $327,491) | 2tainment |
| | Mad Smartphone Tycoon | older | $11.99 | 577 71% | 17k | $208k (exactly $207,547) | Miradil |
| | Entertainment Simulator | $18.99 | 181 73% | 5.4k | $103k (exactly $103,116) | Grizzbera Studio | |
| | 中年失业模拟器When a man lose his job | older | $7.99 | 344 77% | 10k | $82k (exactly $82,457) | Kwing works |
| | Rent A Car Simulator 24 | $12.99 | 154 53% | 4.6k | $60k (exactly $60,014) | 2MEDYA | |
| | Device Doctor Simulator 2024 | $9.99 | 186 62% | 5.6k | $56k (exactly $55,744) | Tenacity Games | |
| | Vending Machine Business Simulator | $8.99 | 193 74% | 5.8k | $52k (exactly $52,052) | Crow Interactive | |
| | Global Magnates: Shipping Tycoon | $12.99 | 116 64% | 3.5k | $45k (exactly $45,205) | Aquila Chengdu | |
| | 回到2001买房子 | $19.99 | 48 72% | 1.4k | $29k (exactly $28,786) | 新起点制作组 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.