Do I ship it?

GamesSimulationSimulation + Roguelite

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelite Simulation game?

Simulation + Roguelite

Of 504 developers who shipped a Roguelite Simulation 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.. 871 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $660k, ×1058 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 871 games are announced against 332 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 871 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Simulation + Roguelite
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 504
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.9k → $30k → $6.2k → $2.7k → $7.5k → $3.6k → $2.1k (still earning) → $628 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Simulation + Roguelite: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 504
Bottom 30% $390 (exactly $390)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,336)
Top 25% $39k (exactly $38,661)
Top 5% $664k (exactly $664,468)
Developers, 2 yr 504
Released games 947
Announced 871
Effort 5 / 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 down 65% on the market, supply 85% 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.

Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Simulation, Roguelite; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Roguelike, Management
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 151,429 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $390, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $38k, 1 in 20 over $660k.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 6 in 10 of the 193 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 871 games are announced against 332 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds150 devs · median $55k · 81 announced
  2. + Escape RoomStrong odds36 devs · median $3.6k · 26 announced
  3. + World War IFair23 devs · median $32k · 32 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair285 devs · median $12k · 362 announced
  5. + LGBTQ+Fair272 devs · median $9.7k · 303 announced
  6. + PinballFair27 devs · median $8.2k · 28 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair672 devs · median $5.1k · 754 announced
  8. + BirdsFair19 devs · median $3.8k · 16 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair387 devs · median $3.0k · 490 announced
  10. + MusicFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 92 announced
  11. + Auto BattlerFair219 devs · median $2.5k · 293 announced
  12. + ProgrammingFair132 devs · median $2.2k · 174 announced

All 287 pairs on the Simulation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DAVE THE DIVER older $19.99 142,662 96% 4.3M $86M (exactly $85,554,401) MINTROCKET
The Scroll of Taiwu : Beyond The Dome $29.99 56,535 65% 1.7M $51M (exactly $50,864,540) ConchShip Games
Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation older $24.99 52,522 94% 1.6M $39M (exactly $39,375,743) ProjectMoon
Against the Storm older $29.99 33,271 94% 998k $30M (exactly $29,933,919) Eremite Games
FTL: Faster Than Light older $9.99 62,763 94% 1.9M $19M (exactly $18,810,071) Subset Games
Blue Prince $29.99 17,498 85% 525k $16M (exactly $15,742,951) Dogubomb
Descenders older $24.99 19,836 95% 595k $15M (exactly $14,871,049) RageSquid
觅长生 older $14.99 27,072 93% 812k $12M (exactly $12,174,278) Chalcedony Network
Moonlighter older $19.99 17,286 82% 519k $10M (exactly $10,366,414) Digital Sun
Buckshot Roulette older $2.99 110,042 95% 3.3M $9.9M (exactly $9,870,767) Mike Klubnika
CloverPit $9.99 24,710 90% 741k $7.4M (exactly $7,405,587) Panik Arcade
Void Crew $24.99 6,573 86% 197k $4.9M (exactly $4,927,778) Hutlihut Games
Scritchy Scratchy $6.99 15,245 94% 457k $3.2M (exactly $3,196,876) Lunch Money Games
Void War $19.99 3,653 94% 110k $2.2M (exactly $2,190,704) Tundra
Bills Must Be Paid $6.99 9,928 96% 298k $2.1M (exactly $2,081,902) Rike Games
Everything is Crab: The Animal Evolution Roguelite $9.99 6,876 76% 206k $2.1M (exactly $2,060,737) Odd Dreams Digital
Star Birds · EA $19.99 2,990 92% 90k $1.8M (exactly $1,793,103) Toukana Interactive
Slots & Daggers $7.99 7,421 93% 223k $1.8M (exactly $1,778,814) Friedemann

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