Do I ship it?

GamesAdventureAdventure + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Adventure game?

Adventure + Psychological

Of 1,029 developers who shipped a Psychological Adventure game 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.. 1,695 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×288 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 1,695 games are announced against 629 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 1,695 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Adventure + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,029
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.9k → $2.9k → $3.4k → $2.9k → $2.4k → $1.9k → $1.3k (still earning) → $807 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Adventure + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,029
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,617)
Top 25% $8.1k (exactly $8,095)
Top 5% $137k (exactly $136,822)
Developers, 2 yr 1,029
Released games 2,503
Announced 1,695
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 10% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Adventure
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Adventure; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Walking Simulator
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 160,300 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $8.0k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 525 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,695 games are announced against 629 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Adventure with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SamuraiFair13 devs · median $261k · 14 announced
  2. + FMVFair144 devs · median $39k · 151 announced
  3. + PinballFair11 devs · median $8.1k · 17 announced
  4. + Job SimulatorFair40 devs · median $6.3k · 50 announced
  5. + Escape RoomFair165 devs · median $2.2k · 151 announced
  6. + Mini GolfFair12 devs · median $2.2k · 11 announced
  7. + SportsFair228 devs · median $1.5k · 224 announced
  8. + GolfFair18 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair384 devs · median $1.2k · 420 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair33 devs · median $599 · 33 announced
  11. + Traditional RoguelikeFair89 devs · median $449 · 119 announced
  12. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds10 devs · median $561k · 7 announced

All 279 pairs on the Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SILENT HILL 2 $69.99 43,367 94% 1.3M $91M (exactly $91,057,690) Bloober Team SA
Inscryption older $19.99 135,017 96% 4.1M $81M (exactly $80,969,695) Daniel Mullins Games
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice older $29.99 66,788 90% 2.0M $60M (exactly $60,089,164) Ninja Theory
SILENT HILL f $69.99 19,061 80% 572k $40M (exactly $40,022,382) NeoBards Entertainment Ltd.
DREDGE older $24.99 47,624 95% 1.4M $36M (exactly $35,703,713) Black Salt Games
NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD older $15.99 54,053 94% 1.6M $26M (exactly $25,929,224) WSS playground, xemono
Psychonauts 2 older $59.99 12,333 95% 370k $22M (exactly $22,195,700) Double Fine Productions
To the Moon older $9.99 69,549 95% 2.1M $21M (exactly $20,843,835) Freebird Games
The Stanley Parable older $14.99 40,292 92% 1.2M $18M (exactly $18,119,312) Galactic Cafe
Superliminal older $19.99 28,428 94% 853k $17M (exactly $17,048,272) Pillow Castle
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Mouthwashing $12.99 34,353 95% 1.0M $13M (exactly $13,387,364) Wrong Organ
CloverPit $9.99 24,710 90% 741k $7.4M (exactly $7,405,587) Panik Arcade
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage $39.99 5,873 86% 176k $7.0M (exactly $7,045,838) DON'T NOD
KARMA: The Dark World $24.99 3,963 90% 119k $3.0M (exactly $2,971,061) POLLARD STUDIO LLC
Pathologic 3 $34.99 2,528 80% 76k $2.7M (exactly $2,653,642) Ice-Pick Lodge
Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis $16.99 3,974 91% 119k $2.0M (exactly $2,025,548) Alliance Arts, WHO YOU
Fears to Fathom® - Scratch Creek $7.99 7,141 75% 214k $1.7M (exactly $1,711,698) Rayll

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