Do I ship it?

GamesSimulationSimulation + Vikings

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Viking Simulation game?

Simulation + Vikings

Only 11 developers shipped a Viking Simulation 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, Viking Frontiers, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 17 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×8.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $4.7k; 1 in 20 cleared $320k, ×513 the market median. Revenue is up 180% on the market; 17 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 180% on the market, 17 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Simulation + Vikings
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Simulation + Vikings: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $4.7k (exactly $4,680)
Median $5.4k (exactly $5,397)
Top 25% $42k (exactly $41,734)
Top 5% $322k (exactly $322,039)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 29
Announced 17
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.50

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 180% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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
Vikings
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Simulation
Price point
$6.50 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 68% positive over 985 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $4.7k, median $5.4k, 1 in 4 over $41k, 1 in 20 over $320k.

3 in 10 developers made under $4.7k. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 17 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Simulation with a different setting or mood, 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
Northgard: Definitive Edition older $34.99 54,478 85% 1.6M $57M (exactly $57,185,557) Shiro Games
ASKA · EA older $24.99 10,457 79% 314k $7.8M (exactly $7,839,613) Sand Sailor Studio
Bad North: Jotunn Edition older $14.99 12,344 93% 370k $5.6M (exactly $5,551,097) Plausible Concept, Oskar Stålberg
Frozenheim older $19.99 3,463 70% 104k $2.1M (exactly $2,076,761) Paranoid Interactive
Land of the Vikings older $25.99 1,960 72% 59k $1.5M (exactly $1,528,212) Laps Games
Love Delivery older $14.99 2,410 96% 72k $1.1M (exactly $1,083,777) Cometsoft Inc.
Dead In Vinland older $27.80 1,175 78% 35k $980k (exactly $979,950) Ishtar Games
Viking Frontiers $19.99 537 51% 16k $322k (exactly $322,039) BLUM Entertainment
Valhalla Hills older $6.99 676 60% 20k $142k (exactly $141,757) Funatics Software
Cultures - Northland older $4.99 599 82% 18k $90k (exactly $89,670) Funatics Software
ShipShaper: Falconeer Chronicles · EA $8.99 192 96% 5.8k $52k (exactly $51,782) Tomas Sala
Vilde $15.99 87 74% 2.6k $42k (exactly $41,734) Chaotic Minds
Tales Of Glory 4 : Ragnarok · EA $29.99 31 83% 930 $28k (exactly $27,891) BlackTale Games
Battle Synth $4.99 56 92% 1.7k $8.4k (exactly $8,383) Cow Games
Ashen Arrows $17.99 10 90% 300 $5.4k (exactly $5,397) Rusty Pipes Games
Viking Vending $4.99 36 91% 1.1k $5.4k (exactly $5,389) FatFishGame
North Hunt $6.50 24 75% 720 $4.7k (exactly $4,680) NewGen
Raidbound $4.99 6 33% 180 $898 (exactly $898) Rustin Robinson
Lord Of Island $2.99 6 100% 180 $538 (exactly $538) TungataGames

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