Do I ship it?

GamesSurvivalSurvival + Political Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Political Sim Survival game?

Survival + Political Sim

Only 14 developers shipped a Political Sim Survival game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Frostpunk 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 32 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $28M, ×44858 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 32 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 32 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Political Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.6k → $1.8k → $1.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Political Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $598 (exactly $598)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,823)
Top 5% $28M (exactly $28,170,938)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 36
Announced 32
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 25% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Survival
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Political 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Survival, Political Sim; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Strategy, City Builder
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $44.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $44.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 21,025 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $4.8k, 1 in 20 over $28M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds14 devs · median $74k · 10 announced
  2. + Social DeductionFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  4. + CatsFair33 devs · median $1.2k · 34 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair77 devs · median $1.0k · 84 announced
  6. + IdlerFair96 devs · median $836 · 99 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair79 devs · median $807 · 90 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair101 devs · median $599 · 130 announced
  9. + DogsFair20 devs · median $535 · 19 announced
  10. + Martial ArtsLong shot19 devs · median $419 · 17 announced
  11. + Boomer ShooterLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced

All 234 pairs on the Survival page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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
Floodland older $19.99 921 54% 28k $552k (exactly $552,324) Vile Monarch
Base One older $24.99 458 36% 14k $343k (exactly $343,363) PixFroze
This Is the President older $14.99 359 67% 11k $161k (exactly $161,442) SuperPAC
Organs Please older $13.99 202 82% 6.1k $85k (exactly $84,779) TECHHOME
Fall of an Empire $29.99 80 67% 2.4k $72k (exactly $71,976) JG Games
Among Ass older $4.99 378 80% 11k $57k (exactly $56,587) Volens Nolens Games
Z-Collapse older $12.99 87 73% 2.6k $34k (exactly $33,904) Pok&Co
Dissent on Mars $29.99 19 47% 570 $17k (exactly $17,094) Michael Hicks, Gonçalo Antunes
The Three Kingdoms of Shadows: Xuzhou $6.99 23 82% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) 鹏砚
EmpireX - Business, Real Estate and Crime Simulator $14.99 8 75% 240 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) darkwolf66
Supreme Ruler Global Outbreak $19.99 3 66% 90 $1.8k (exactly $1,799) BattleGoat Studios
Another Day As President $6.99 6 83% 180 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) 1610
War and Politics · EA $3.99 7 42% 210 $838 (exactly $838) JIYUTORISEI
Rise of the Settlement · EA $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Luki
Frostveil: The Last Winter $3.99 5 60% 150 $598 (exactly $598) Alabarda Gaming

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