Dating sims
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 4 platforms: niche 45/100, demand 71/100, competition 70/100, development cost 31/100. On Steam: 2,260 games and 98,241 players online; 29% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $15.93.
Niche
45/100
Demand (0–100)
71/100
Competition
70/100
Dev cost
31/100
Spend per player
$15.93
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
29%
Key findings
- Ranked #64 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on itch.io (61/100) and weakest on App Store (35/100).
- Competition is above typical: 70/100 vs a median of 57/100 — standing out will take a strong hook or marketing.
- Development is cheaper than typical: index 31/100 vs a median of 39/100 — the genre is within reach of a small team.
- On Steam, 29% of games reached 500+ reviews — more often than usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 50% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 62/100 | 2,260 | 59/100 | 48/100 | 37/100 |
| itch.io | 97/100 | 5,381 | 61/100 | 61/100 | 28/100 |
| Yandex Games | no data | ||||
| Google Play | 66/100 | 87% | 80/100 | 37/100 | 32/100 |
| App Store | 61/100 | 82% | 80/100 | 35/100 | 28/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Monster Hunter WildsCAPCOM Co., Ltd. · $39.99
The Sims 4Maxis · free
Persona 5 RoyalATLUS · $59.99
Indie
Doki Doki Literature Club!Team Salvato · free
鬼谷八荒 Tale of Immortal鬼谷工作室 · $19.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology