Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Shop Keeper
Should I ship a Shop Keeper Sandbox?
Sandbox + Shop Keeper
Of 137 developers who shipped a Shop Keeper 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.. 226 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.8k, ×12 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.6k; 1 in 20 cleared $710k, ×1143 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 226 games are announced against 118 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.8k (exactly $7,792) |
| Top 25% | $54k (exactly $54,315) |
| Top 5% | $718k (exactly $717,631) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 137 |
| Released games | 182 |
| Announced | 226 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 90% on the market, supply 370% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- Shop Keeper
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox, Shop Keeper; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Economy
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 68,700 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.6k. 3 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 226 games are announced against 118 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
TCG Card Shop Simulator 2026 · $28M 
Grocery Store Simulator 2024 · $2.4M 
King of Retail 2022 · $2.3M 
Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 2024 · $1.8M 
Roadside Research 2026 · EA · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | TCG Card Shop Simulator | $19.99 | 47,357 96% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $28,399,993) | OPNeon Games | |
| | Grocery Store Simulator | $14.99 | 5,337 90% | 160k | $2.4M (exactly $2,400,049) | EXPERIMENT ONE | |
| | King of Retail | older | $25.99 | 2,982 88% | 89k | $2.3M (exactly $2,325,065) | Freaking Games |
| | Tavern Manager Simulator 🍻 | older | $14.99 | 4,018 91% | 121k | $1.8M (exactly $1,806,895) | One More Time |
| | Roadside Research | · EA | $14.99 | 3,991 85% | 120k | $1.8M (exactly $1,794,753) | Cybernetic Walrus |
 | Drag'n Wash | $14.99 | 2,880 96% | 86k | $1.3M (exactly $1,295,136) | Gator Dragon Games | |
 | Teddy's Haven | · EA | $14.99 | 2,800 95% | 84k | $1.3M (exactly $1,259,160) | Teddy Bear Games LLC |
 | Another Brick in The Mall | older | $16.99 | 2,340 83% | 70k | $1.2M (exactly $1,192,698) | The Quadsphere |
 | Megastore Simulator | · EA | $13.99 | 1,968 93% | 59k | $826k (exactly $825,970) | Yolo Games Studio |
 | Motel Manager Simulator | older | $17.99 | 1,475 84% | 44k | $796k (exactly $796,057) | Denzone Games |
 | Bookshop Simulator | $15.99 | 1,496 92% | 45k | $718k (exactly $717,631) | Blep Games | |
 | Better Mart Simulator | $14.99 | 1,238 89% | 37k | $557k (exactly $556,729) | Exanticx Studio | |
 | Saloon Simulator | · EA | $18.99 | 860 89% | 26k | $490k (exactly $489,942) | Glivi Games S.A. |
 | Blood Bar Tycoon | $19.99 | 773 79% | 23k | $464k (exactly $463,568) | Clever Trickster Studio, Clever Trickst… (Clever Trickster Studio, Clever Trickster Productions) |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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