Games › Political Sim › Political Sim + Visual Novel
Should I ship a Visual Novel Political Sim?
Political Sim + Visual Novel
Of 25 developers who shipped a Visual Novel Political Sim 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.. 59 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×291 the market median. Revenue is up 120% on the market; 59 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,469) |
| Top 5% | $138k (exactly $138,461) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 25 |
| Released games | 88 |
| Announced | 59 |
| 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 up 120% on the market, supply 155% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Visual Novel
- effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Political Sim, Visual Novel; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Choices Matter, Multiple Endings, Simulation
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 2,269 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 59 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Political Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + DetectiveFair
- + Psychological HorrorFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Board GameFair
- + TabletopFair
- + CombatPoor odds
- + Sci-fiPoor odds
- + FuturisticPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
- + Cold WarPoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
Suzerain 2020 · $6.3M 
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You 2016 · $2.7M 
Long Live The Queen 2013 · $1.7M 
We. The Revolution 2019 · $1.2M 
The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian 2026 · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Suzerain | older | $19.99 | 10,574 92% | 317k | $6.3M (exactly $6,341,228) | Torpor Games |
| | Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You | older | $9.99 | 8,936 90% | 268k | $2.7M (exactly $2,678,119) | Osmotic Studios |
| | Long Live The Queen | older | $9.99 | 5,832 94% | 175k | $1.7M (exactly $1,747,850) | Hanako Games |
| | We. The Revolution | older | $19.99 | 1,997 73% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,197,601) | Polyslash |
| | The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian | $24.99 | 1,356 74% | 41k | $1.0M (exactly $1,016,593) | Schisma Games | |
 | SEX with HITLER | older | $6.99 | 3,358 81% | 101k | $704k (exactly $704,173) | Adolf Games |
 | Orwell: Ignorance is Strength | older | $9.99 | 1,506 77% | 45k | $451k (exactly $451,348) | Osmotic Studios |
 | Sex with Stalin | older | $5.99 | 2,217 83% | 67k | $398k (exactly $398,395) | Mova Games |
 | For the People | older | $16.99 | 729 73% | 22k | $372k (exactly $371,571) | Brezg Studio |
 | Long Gone Days | older | $24.99 | 468 88% | 14k | $351k (exactly $350,860) | This I Dreamt |
 | Lightracer: For Judge | $9.99 | 462 92% | 14k | $138k (exactly $138,461) | Smartmelon Games | |
 | Galaxy Princess Zorana | $24.99 | 154 88% | 4.6k | $115k (exactly $115,454) | Hanako Games | |
 | Lunar Ascendant | $14.99 | 86 44% | 2.6k | $39k (exactly $38,674) | Darts Games | |
 | Your Crown Is Mine | $18.99 | 34 82% | 1.0k | $19k (exactly $19,370) | Lyyycaena | |
 | Marry a Deep One: Innsmouth Simulator | $17.99 | 32 50% | 960 | $17k (exactly $17,270) | simulinati | |
 | Ministry of Truth: False Memory | $6.99 | 69 85% | 2.1k | $14k (exactly $14,469) | IKKOSAMA, False Memory Dept. | |
 | Miss Peacock | $9.99 | 33 96% | 990 | $9.9k (exactly $9,890) | Otter Club | |
 | The Three Kingdoms of Shadows: Xuzhou | $6.99 | 23 82% | 690 | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) | 鹏砚 | |
 | Pitchforks and Daggers | $4.99 | 20 85% | 600 | $3.0k (exactly $2,994) | Idan Sheinkman |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.