Benchmarking the niche of checklist simulators in the context of the ReStory release: subgenre saturation, median revenue, and top games

On August 6, the release of ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs took place. This is a great opportunity to discuss one of the most intriguing niches in the market, which we tentatively call checklist simulators. In the latest report, you'll find plenty of data on the state of this subgenre, median revenue, top-grossing games, and a comparative benchmark across various simulator categories.

What Are Checklist Simulators: Understanding the Classification

Simulators are one of the most evergreen and profitable genres on PC. Naturally, there are numerous categories and subgenres within it. One such subgenre is routine simulators, characterized by the repetition of specific sequences of actions and narratives closely tied to gameplay.

We tentatively call them checklist simulators because gaming sessions in such games are built around completing either virtual or physical task lists (hence the analogy to checkmarks on checklists). At least eight criteria characterize checklist simulators:

• presence of external reference — the object (e.g., a device for repair, a person for inspection, a vehicle, documents) must be compared with a fixed set of rules to gradually check off tasks in the process;
• linked to a specific profession — the player takes on the role of a seller, checkpoint officer, guard, repairperson, etc.;
• discrete structure — gameplay is divided into clear, segmented sessions (one client, patient, radio frequency), which follow one another and form a continuous loop;