Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Life Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Life Sim?

Life Sim

Of 1,853 developers who shipped a Life 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.. 3,151 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×7.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $710k, ×1511 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 3,151 games are announced against 1,165 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 3,151 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Life Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,853
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $6.7k → $5.4k → $6.6k → $7.4k → $5.0k → $3.6k (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Life Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,853
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 25% $37k (exactly $37,417)
Top 5% $718k (exactly $717,631)
Developers, 2 yr 1,853
Released games 4,341
Announced 3,151
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 15% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Life Sim
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
Life Sim
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 411,976 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 $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $37k, 1 in 20 over $710k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 971 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 3,151 games are announced against 1,165 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Life Sim

126 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Life Sim + Auto Battler Poor odds $6.6k 10 devs
  2. Life Sim + Outbreak Sim Poor odds $6.1k 16 devs
  3. Life Sim + Resource Management Poor odds $5.9k 464 devs
  4. Life Sim + Programming Poor odds $5.8k 9 devs
  5. Life Sim + Political Sim Poor odds $5.4k 33 devs
  6. City Builder + Life Sim Poor odds $5.4k 90 devs
  7. Adventure + Life Sim Poor odds $5.1k 446 devs
  8. Life Sim + Investigation Poor odds $5.1k 49 devs
  9. Life Sim + Roguelite Poor odds $4.6k 59 devs
  10. Life Sim + Medical Sim Poor odds $4.5k 32 devs
  11. Colony Sim + Life Sim Poor odds $4.4k 47 devs
  12. Exploration + Life Sim Poor odds $4.3k 426 devs
  13. Level Editor + Life Sim Poor odds $4.1k 13 devs
  14. Sports + Life Sim Poor odds $4.0k 56 devs
  15. Life Sim + Multiple Endings Poor odds $3.9k 266 devs
  16. Simulation + Life Sim Poor odds $3.9k 1,631 devs
  17. PvP + Life Sim Poor odds $3.8k 37 devs
  18. Life Sim + Choose Your Own Adventure Poor odds $3.7k 210 devs
  19. Space Sim + Life Sim Poor odds $3.7k 14 devs
  20. Destruction + Life Sim Poor odds $3.7k 10 devs
  21. Life Sim + Roguelike Poor odds $3.6k 43 devs
  22. Choices Matter + Life Sim Poor odds $3.5k 355 devs
  23. Life Sim + Interactive Fiction Poor odds $3.5k 164 devs
  24. Life Sim + Desktop Companion Poor odds $3.3k 43 devs
  25. Creature Collector + Life Sim Poor odds $3.2k 121 devs
  26. Racing + Life Sim Poor odds $3.2k 51 devs
  27. Grand Strategy + Life Sim Poor odds $3.2k 14 devs
  28. Collectathon + Life Sim Poor odds $3.1k 130 devs
  29. Life Sim + Time Management Poor odds $3.0k 392 devs
  30. Physics + Life Sim Poor odds $2.8k 174 devs
  31. Life Sim + Puzzle Poor odds $2.4k 160 devs
  32. FPS + Life Sim Poor odds $2.4k 88 devs
  33. Strategy RPG + Life Sim Poor odds $2.3k 53 devs
  34. Strategy + Life Sim Poor odds $2.2k 325 devs
  35. Life Sim + Dynamic Narration Poor odds $2.2k 18 devs
  36. 3D Fighter + Life Sim Poor odds $2.1k 10 devs
  37. Action + Life Sim Poor odds $1.9k 200 devs
  38. Stealth + Life Sim Poor odds $1.9k 25 devs
  39. Survival + Life Sim Poor odds $1.9k 162 devs
  40. PvE + Life Sim Poor odds $1.9k 55 devs
  41. Life Sim + Procedural Generation Poor odds $1.8k 47 devs
  42. Turn-Based Tactics + Life Sim Poor odds $1.8k 41 devs
  43. Turn-Based Strategy + Life Sim Poor odds $1.8k 33 devs
  44. Real Time Tactics + Life Sim Poor odds $1.5k 15 devs
  45. Loot + Life Sim Poor odds $1.5k 22 devs
  46. Action-Adventure + Life Sim Poor odds $1.4k 107 devs
  47. 6DOF + Life Sim Poor odds $1.4k 18 devs
  48. Tactical + Life Sim Poor odds $1.2k 37 devs
  49. Combat + Life Sim Poor odds $1.1k 48 devs
  50. Life Sim + Idler Poor odds $1.0k 242 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Stardew Valley 2016 · $402M Crusader Kings III 2020 · $142M MiSide 2024 · $55M Supermarket Simulator 2025 · $48M inZOI 2025 · EA · $36M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stardew Valley older $14.99 894,201 98% 27M $402M (exactly $402,122,190) ConcernedApe
Crusader Kings III older $49.99 94,615 90% 2.8M $142M (exactly $141,894,116) Paradox Development Studio
MiSide $14.99 122,007 97% 3.7M $55M (exactly $54,866,548) AIHASTO
Supermarket Simulator $19.99 79,236 92% 2.4M $48M (exactly $47,517,829) Nokta Games
inZOI · EA $39.99 30,020 77% 901k $36M (exactly $36,014,994) inZOI Studio
My Time at Portia older $29.99 34,844 91% 1.0M $31M (exactly $31,349,147) Pathea Games
WorldBox - God Simulator · EA older $19.99 51,071 95% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,627,279) Maxim Karpenko
Crime Scene Cleaner older $29.99 32,469 98% 974k $29M (exactly $29,212,359) President Studio
My Time at Sandrock older $39.99 24,110 88% 723k $29M (exactly $28,924,767) Pathea Games
TCG Card Shop Simulator $19.99 47,357 96% 1.4M $28M (exactly $28,399,993) OPNeon Games
Wobbly Life $24.99 33,034 97% 991k $25M (exactly $24,765,590) RubberBandGames
Paralives · EA $39.99 20,123 89% 604k $24M (exactly $24,141,563) Alex Massé and team
Dinkum $19.99 24,641 92% 739k $15M (exactly $14,777,208) James Bendon
Fields of Mistria $13.99 31,918 96% 958k $13M (exactly $13,395,985) NPC Studio
Hello Kitty Island Adventure $39.99 9,637 93% 289k $12M (exactly $11,561,509) Sunblink
Big Ambitions $25.99 14,003 92% 420k $11M (exactly $10,918,139) Hovgaard Games

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