Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Political Sim
Should I ship a Political Sim Sandbox?
Sandbox + Political Sim
Of 55 developers who shipped a Political Sim Sandbox 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.. 108 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.4k, ×12 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $660k, ×1060 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 108 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.4k (exactly $7,431) |
| Top 25% | $111k (exactly $111,488) |
| Top 5% | $666k (exactly $665,667) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 55 |
| Released games | 135 |
| Announced | 108 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $10.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Sandbox
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Political Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox, Political Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, Management
- Price point
- $10.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $10.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 8,777 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.6k. 7 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 108 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
Victoria 3 2022 · $62M 
WorldBox - God Simulator 2021 · EA · $31M 
Tropico 6 2019 · $24M 
Imperator: Rome 2019 · $23M 
Eco 2018 · EA · $10M | 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 |
| | WorldBox - God Simulator | · EA older | $19.99 | 51,071 95% | 1.5M | $31M (exactly $30,627,279) | Maxim Karpenko |
| | Tropico 6 | older | $39.99 | 19,837 88% | 595k | $24M (exactly $23,798,449) | Limbic Entertainment, Realmforge Studios |
| | Imperator: Rome | older | $39.99 | 19,492 65% | 585k | $23M (exactly $23,384,552) | Paradox Development Studio |
| | Eco | · EA older | $29.99 | 11,375 80% | 341k | $10M (exactly $10,234,088) | Strange Loop Games |
 | Victoria II | older | $19.99 | 16,504 92% | 495k | $9.9M (exactly $9,897,449) | Paradox Development Studio |
 | Age of History II | older | $5.99 | 47,614 89% | 1.4M | $8.6M (exactly $8,556,236) | Łukasz Jakowski |
 | Tropico 5 | older | $19.99 | 9,796 78% | 294k | $5.9M (exactly $5,874,661) | Haemimont Games |
 | Democracy 3 | older | $24.99 | 6,245 73% | 187k | $4.7M (exactly $4,681,876) | Positech Games |
 | Tropico 4 | older | $14.99 | 8,211 91% | 246k | $3.7M (exactly $3,692,487) | Haemimont Games |
 | Ascension | · EA | $19.99 | 2,437 60% | 73k | $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) | Element Game 微元游戏 |
 | Age of History 2: Definitive Edition | $9.99 | 2,600 83% | 78k | $779k (exactly $779,220) | Łukasz Jakowski | |
 | 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 |
 | NationWar2:Chronicle | $16.99 | 378 78% | 11k | $193k (exactly $192,667) | Yiming | |
 | 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 |
 | Astrobuilder | $14.99 | 350 88% | 11k | $157k (exactly $157,395) | wastudio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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