Do I ship it?

GamesPolitical SimPolitical Sim + Trading

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Trading Political Sim?

Political Sim + Trading

Only 19 developers shipped a Trading Political Sim 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, Geo-Political Simulator 5, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 48 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $700k, ×1481 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 48 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 48 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Political Sim + Trading
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $15k → $5.2k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Political Sim + Trading: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,295)
Top 5% $704k (exactly $703,683)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 42
Announced 48
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 55% on the market, supply 180% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Trading
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, Trading; all of the top 25% also carry Economy, Simulation, Strategy
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Relaxing
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 59% positive over 823 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 $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $700k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Eco · EA older $29.99 11,375 80% 341k $10M (exactly $10,234,088) Strange Loop Games
Power & Revolution 2022 Edition older $49.99 815 60% 24k $1.2M (exactly $1,222,256) Eversim
The Guild II Renaissance older $9.99 3,540 82% 106k $1.1M (exactly $1,060,938) Runeforge Game Studio
Plutocracy · EA older $24.99 1,305 79% 39k $978k (exactly $978,358) Redwood
Power & Revolution 2021 Edition older $49.99 629 56% 19k $943k (exactly $943,311) Eversim
SuperPower 3 older $29.99 982 10% 29k $884k (exactly $883,505) GolemLabs
Power & Revolution 2023 Edition older $49.99 499 60% 15k $748k (exactly $748,350) Eversim
Geo-Political Simulator 5 $59.99 391 34% 12k $704k (exactly $703,683) Eversim
Life Inc. · EA $19.99 154 88% 4.6k $92k (exactly $92,354) Sergio Garcia
East India Company older $9.99 190 52% 5.7k $57k (exactly $56,943) Nitro Games
Rich List: The Order · EA $14.99 70 90% 2.1k $31k (exactly $31,479) YUANYE TECH
Magic Forge Tycoon $11.99 82 69% 2.5k $29k (exactly $29,495) Clever Trickster Studio, Clever Trickst… (Clever Trickster Studio, Clever Trickster Productions)
Globalism · EA $29.99 17 52% 510 $15k (exactly $15,295) igelanium games
Governor $15.99 30 76% 900 $14k (exactly $14,391) Daniling
Billionaire in the Oil Boom $7.99 31 80% 930 $7.4k (exactly $7,431) Pizza OK Games
王朝:将军觐见 · EA $6.99 25 80% 750 $5.2k (exactly $5,242) 三千越甲GameStudio
Machiavelli the Prince $9.99 10 100% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Holistic Design, Inc.
MA 2 – President Simulator $4.99 13 69% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) Oxiwyle Inc.

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