Do I ship it?

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Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Political Sim?

Political Sim

Of 256 developers who shipped a 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.. 490 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×3.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $390; 1 in 20 cleared $400k, ×843 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 490 games are announced against 165 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 490 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Political Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 256
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.5k → $10k → $4.3k → $3.4k → $1.4k → $959 → $1.5k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Political Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 256
Bottom 30% $390 (exactly $390)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,436)
Top 25% $18k (exactly $17,738)
Top 5% $401k (exactly $400,600)
Developers, 2 yr 256
Released games 709
Announced 490
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 up 30% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Political 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
Political Sim
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 61% positive over 93,767 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 $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $400k.

3 in 10 developers made under $390. 8 in 10 of the 119 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 490 games are announced against 165 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Political Sim

73 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Political Sim + Alternate History Poor odds $1.4k 49 devs
  2. Choices Matter + Political Sim Poor odds $1.3k 104 devs
  3. Survival + Political Sim Poor odds $1.3k 14 devs
  4. Turn-Based Tactics + Political Sim Poor odds $1.2k 34 devs
  5. Turn-Based Strategy + Political Sim Poor odds $1.2k 67 devs
  6. Political Sim + Dystopian Poor odds $1.2k 33 devs
  7. Political Sim + Time Management Poor odds $1.1k 27 devs
  8. Political Sim + Puzzle Poor odds $1.1k 16 devs
  9. PvE + Political Sim Poor odds $1.1k 17 devs
  10. Immersive Sim + Political Sim Poor odds $959 40 devs
  11. Adventure + Political Sim Poor odds $899 31 devs
  12. Political Sim + Logic Poor odds $899 9 devs
  13. Crafting + Political Sim Poor odds $898 13 devs
  14. Political Sim + Investigation Poor odds $898 13 devs
  15. Political Sim + Choose Your Own Adventure Poor odds $832 33 devs
  16. Political Sim + Crime Poor odds $718 9 devs
  17. Political Sim + Interactive Fiction Poor odds $598 27 devs
  18. Political Sim + Card Game Poor odds $450 23 devs
  19. Political Sim + Conspiracy Poor odds $449 11 devs
  20. Co-op + Political Sim Dead $274k 4 devs
  21. Action + Political Sim Dead $180 15 devs
  22. Action-Adventure + Political Sim Dead $180 2 devs
  23. Political Sim + Arcade Dead $0 10 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sid Meier's Civilization VII 2025 · $94M Victoria 3 2022 · $62M WorldBox - God Simulator 2021 · EA · $31M Frostpunk 2 2024 · $28M Tropico 6 2019 · $24M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sid Meier's Civilization VII $69.99 44,789 48% 1.3M $94M (exactly $94,043,463) Firaxis Games
Victoria 3 older $49.99 41,251 71% 1.2M $62M (exactly $61,864,125) Paradox Development Studio
WorldBox - God Simulator · EA older $19.99 51,071 95% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,627,279) Maxim Karpenko
Frostpunk 2 $44.99 20,872 74% 626k $28M (exactly $28,170,938) 11 bit studios
Tropico 6 older $39.99 19,837 88% 595k $24M (exactly $23,798,449) Limbic Entertainment, Realmforge Studios
Imperator: Rome older $39.99 19,492 65% 585k $23M (exactly $23,384,552) Paradox Development Studio
Halo: Campaign Evolved $49.99 12,512 61% 375k $19M (exactly $18,764,246) Halo Studios
Eco · EA older $29.99 11,375 80% 341k $10M (exactly $10,234,088) Strange Loop Games
Victoria II older $19.99 16,504 92% 495k $9.9M (exactly $9,897,449) Paradox Development Studio
Beholder older $13.99 23,199 91% 696k $9.7M (exactly $9,736,620) Alawar Stargaze (Warm Lamp Games)
Beholder: Conductor $13.99 4,532 91% 136k $1.9M (exactly $1,902,080) Alawar
MEMORIAPOLIS $32.00 1,752 75% 53k $1.7M (exactly $1,681,920) 5PM Studio
Ascension · EA $19.99 2,437 60% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,461,469) Element Game 微元游戏
The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian $24.99 1,356 74% 41k $1.0M (exactly $1,016,593) Schisma Games
Age of History 2: Definitive Edition $9.99 2,600 83% 78k $779k (exactly $779,220) Łukasz Jakowski
Politics The Game $9.99 2,526 95% 76k $757k (exactly $757,042) Simplicity Games
Geo-Political Simulator 5 $59.99 391 34% 12k $704k (exactly $703,683) Eversim

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