Do I ship it?

GamesSimulationSimulation + Outbreak Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Outbreak Sim Simulation game?

Simulation + Outbreak Sim

Of 65 developers who shipped an Outbreak Sim Simulation 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.. 116 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $750k, ×1205 the market median. Revenue is up 120% on the market; 116 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 120% on the market, 116 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Simulation + Outbreak Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 65
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $15k → $1.1k → $2.7k → $1.8k → $5.8k → $629 → $1.4k (still earning) → $4.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Simulation + Outbreak Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 65
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,851)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $22,178)
Top 5% $757k (exactly $757,042)
Developers, 2 yr 65
Released games 183
Announced 116
Effort 5 / 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 up 120% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Outbreak Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Simulation, Outbreak Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Management, Resource Management, Strategy
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 36,439 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $750k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 116 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds150 devs · median $55k · 81 announced
  2. + Escape RoomStrong odds36 devs · median $3.6k · 26 announced
  3. + World War IFair23 devs · median $32k · 32 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair285 devs · median $12k · 362 announced
  5. + LGBTQ+Fair272 devs · median $9.7k · 303 announced
  6. + PinballFair27 devs · median $8.2k · 28 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair672 devs · median $5.1k · 754 announced
  8. + BirdsFair19 devs · median $3.8k · 16 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair387 devs · median $3.0k · 490 announced
  10. + MusicFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 92 announced
  11. + Auto BattlerFair219 devs · median $2.5k · 293 announced
  12. + ProgrammingFair132 devs · median $2.2k · 174 announced

All 287 pairs on the Simulation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Plague Inc: Evolved older $14.99 59,205 94% 1.8M $27M (exactly $26,624,488) Ndemic Creations
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
No, I'm not a Human $14.99 27,222 93% 817k $12M (exactly $12,241,733) Trioskaz
ZED ZONE · EA older $11.99 3,506 81% 105k $1.3M (exactly $1,261,108) Leven Liu
Bio Inc. Redemption older $12.99 3,051 87% 92k $1.2M (exactly $1,188,975) DryGin Studios
Survival Log $10.99 2,709 82% 81k $893k (exactly $893,157) Midnight Workshop
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations
Politics The Game $9.99 2,526 95% 76k $757k (exactly $757,042) Simplicity Games
Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville older $14.99 1,486 86% 45k $668k (exactly $668,254) Northway Games, Sarah Northway
Shadows of Forbidden Gods older $19.99 1,046 91% 31k $627k (exactly $627,286) Bobby Two Hands
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
CURE - A Hospital Simulator · EA $9.99 830 86% 25k $249k (exactly $248,751) Sentinel Games
SLEEP AWAKE $29.99 164 71% 4.9k $148k (exactly $147,551) EYES OUT, LLC.
Extinction Day $19.99 206 74% 6.2k $124k (exactly $123,538) DryGin Studios
Execute $5.99 679 91% 20k $122k (exactly $122,016) Payne Robinson
Welcome Back, Commander $14.99 230 80% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) S.C. 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L.

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