Simulation
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 5 platforms: niche 54/100, demand 85/100, competition 59/100, development cost 47/100. On Steam: 19,407 games and 1,340,539 players online; 17% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $17.92.
Niche
54/100
Demand (0–100)
85/100
Competition
59/100
Dev cost
47/100
Spend per player
$17.92
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
17%
Key findings
- Ranked #21 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on App Store (89/100) and weakest on itch.io (31/100).
- Competition is at a typical level: 59/100 vs a median of 58/100.
- Development is costlier than typical: index 47/100 vs a median of 39/100 — plan for more time and money.
- On Steam, 17% of games reached 500+ reviews — about usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 59% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 87/100 | 19,407 | 90/100 | 33/100 | 59/100 |
| itch.io | 90/100 | 87,917 | 89/100 | 31/100 | 45/100 |
| Yandex Games | 76/100 | 1,939 | 77/100 | 42/100 | 40/100 |
| Google Play | 79/100 | 51% | 25/100 | 77/100 | 43/100 |
| App Store | 91/100 | 27% | 12/100 | 89/100 | 49/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Garry's ModFacepunch Studios · $9.99
War ThunderGaijin Entertainment · free
VRChatVRChat Inc. · free
Indie
Stardew ValleyConcernedApe · $14.99
Euro Truck Simulator 2SCS Software · $19.99
Project ZomboidThe Indie Stone · $24.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology