Do I ship it?

Games › Political Sim › Political Sim + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Political Sim Resource Management game?

Political Sim + Resource Management

Of 76 developers who shipped a Political Sim Resource Management 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.. 163 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $700k, ×1481 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 163 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 163 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Political Sim + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 76
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $85k → $748k → $4.9k → $3.9k → $7.4k → $9.6k → $1.5k (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Political Sim + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 76
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,648)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $32,202)
Top 5% $704k (exactly $703,683)
Developers, 2 yr 76
Released games 152
Announced 163
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 down 90% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Resource Management
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, Resource Management; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Management
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 28,464 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $700k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 163 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Political Sim with a different second tag, 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

Victoria 3 2022 · $62M Frostpunk 2 2024 · $28M Eco 2018 · EA · $10M Tropico 5 2014 · $5.9M Do Not Feed the Monkeys 2018 · $5.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Victoria 3 older $49.99 41,251 71% 1.2M $62M (exactly $61,864,125) Paradox Development Studio
Frostpunk 2 $44.99 20,872 74% 626k $28M (exactly $28,170,938) 11 bit studios
Eco · EA older $29.99 11,375 80% 341k $10M (exactly $10,234,088) Strange Loop Games
Tropico 5 older $19.99 9,796 78% 294k $5.9M (exactly $5,874,661) Haemimont Games
Do Not Feed the Monkeys older $15.99 10,376 93% 311k $5.0M (exactly $4,977,367) Fictiorama Studios
Tropico 4 older $14.99 8,211 91% 246k $3.7M (exactly $3,692,487) Haemimont Games
MEMORIAPOLIS $32.00 1,752 75% 53k $1.7M (exactly $1,681,920) 5PM Studio
Anno 1404 - History Edition older $14.99 3,454 82% 104k $1.6M (exactly $1,553,264) Ubisoft Mainz
Ascension · EA $19.99 2,437 60% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) Element Game 微元游戏
Dummynation older $11.99 3,127 88% 94k $1.1M (exactly $1,124,782) Alejandro Hernández Ferrero
Geo-Political Simulator 5 $59.99 391 34% 12k $704k (exactly $703,683) Eversim
Mandate Order · EA $19.99 1,110 81% 33k $666k (exactly $665,667) Digital Sky
The End of History · EA $28.00 366 68% 11k $307k (exactly $307,440) Tatamibeya
Realpolitiks 3: Earth and Beyond $24.99 253 39% 7.6k $190k (exactly $189,674) Jujubee
Age of Clicks · EA $12.99 472 65% 14k $184k (exactly $183,938) David Ius
Pompeii: The Legacy $19.99 266 80% 8.0k $160k (exactly $159,520) Siscia Games
Sinner Maker · EA $9.66 545 91% 16k $158k (exactly $157,941) Pantokrator

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