Games › Music-Based Procedural Generation › Music-Based Procedural Generation + Arcade
Should I ship a Music-Based Procedural Generation Arcade game?
Music-Based Procedural Generation + Arcade
Of 40 developers who shipped a Music-Based Procedural Generation Arcade 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.. 51 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 27 developers shipped in the last year and 51 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $358 (exactly $358) |
| Top 25% | $2.2k (exactly $2,242) |
| Top 5% | $1.0M (exactly $1,048,717) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 132 |
| Announced | 51 |
| 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 50% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Music-Based Procedural Generation
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Arcade
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Music-Based Procedural Generation, Arcade; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Rhythm, Bullet Hell
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cartoon, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 8,981 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Music-Based Procedural Generation with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Character CustomizationFair
- + FantasyFair
- + MusicFair
- + RhythmLong shot
- + Level EditorPoor odds
- + PuzzlePoor odds
- + AdventurePoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + ExplorationPoor odds
- + PlatformerPoor odds
- + RoguelikePoor odds
- + PhysicsPoor odds
Comparable games
EZ2ON REBOOT : R 2022 · $8.1M 
Rift of the NecroDancer 2025 · $3.5M 
Melatonin 2022 · $3.4M 
AudioSurf 2008 · $2.7M 
Audiosurf 2 2015 · $2.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | EZ2ON REBOOT : R | older | $44.99 | 5,972 91% | 179k | $8.1M (exactly $8,060,408) | Neonovice Co., Ltd., SQUARE PIXELS |
| | Rift of the NecroDancer | $19.99 | 5,844 93% | 175k | $3.5M (exactly $3,504,647) | Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios I… (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios Inc.) | |
| | Melatonin | older | $14.99 | 7,554 94% | 227k | $3.4M (exactly $3,397,034) | Half Asleep |
| | AudioSurf | older | $9.99 | 8,901 95% | 267k | $2.7M (exactly $2,667,630) | Dylan Fitterer |
| | Audiosurf 2 | older | $14.99 | 5,364 82% | 161k | $2.4M (exactly $2,412,191) | Dylan Fitterer |
 | APE OUT | older | $14.99 | 3,733 94% | 112k | $1.7M (exactly $1,678,730) | Gabe Cuzzillo, Bennett Foddy, Maxi Boch |
 | Beat Hazard | older | $9.99 | 5,072 95% | 152k | $1.5M (exactly $1,520,078) | Cold Beam Games |
 | PUMP IT UP RISE | $44.99 | 777 80% | 23k | $1.0M (exactly $1,048,717) | ANDAMIRO | |
 | Beat Hazard 2 | older | $18.99 | 1,396 89% | 42k | $795k (exactly $795,301) | Cold Beam Games |
 | MUSYNX | older | $3.99 | 6,274 89% | 188k | $751k (exactly $750,998) | I-Inferno |
 | Rhythia | · EA | $3.99 | 2,029 83% | 61k | $243k (exactly $242,871) | Capo Games |
 | KAZ | $6.99 | 143 94% | 4.3k | $30k (exactly $29,987) | Kalinarm | |
 | Rhythm Storm | $9.99 | 86 91% | 2.6k | $26k (exactly $25,774) | Radiangames | |
 | HyperCore : Rhythm Bullet Hell | $19.99 | 17 100% | 510 | $10k (exactly $10,195) | Gameinaframe | |
 | Beats Of Fury | $9.99 | 30 76% | 900 | $9.0k (exactly $8,991) | Bubble Head Games | |
 | Melody Friends | $7.99 | 20 100% | 600 | $4.8k (exactly $4,794) | WINE GL | |
 | PopSlinger Vol. 2 - Loveless | $14.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) | Funky Can Creative | |
 | my BEST life my PEST life | $2.99 | 25 96% | 750 | $2.2k (exactly $2,242) | Crush-vAdin, Syuto Nakamura |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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