Economy / management
An average niche: demand and competition are roughly balanced — the idea and execution decide. Average across 5 platforms: niche 53/100, demand 69/100, competition 56/100, development cost 41/100. On Steam: 4,502 games and 462,977 players online; 24% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $22.11.
Niche
53/100
Demand (0–100)
69/100
Competition
56/100
Dev cost
41/100
Spend per player
$22.11
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
24%
Key findings
- Ranked #24 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on App Store (64/100) and weakest on Steam (47/100).
- Competition is at a typical level: 56/100 vs a median of 57/100.
- Development cost is typical: index 41/100 vs a median of 39/100.
- On Steam, 24% 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 | 77/100 | 4,502 | 69/100 | 47/100 | 46/100 |
| itch.io | 81/100 | 8,218 | 65/100 | 53/100 | 43/100 |
| Yandex Games | 44/100 | 272 | 41/100 | 51/100 | 35/100 |
| Google Play | 72/100 | 76% | 64/100 | 51/100 | 42/100 |
| App Store | 71/100 | 50% | 42/100 | 64/100 | 38/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Cities: SkylinesColossal Order · $29.99
EA SPORTS FIFA 23EA Canada & EA Romania · free
Prison ArchitectIntroversion Software, Double Eleven · $29.99
Indie
Euro Truck Simulator 2SCS Software · $19.99
Schedule ITVGS · $19.99
FactorioWube Software LTD. · $35
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology