Games › Arcade › Arcade + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Arcade game?
Arcade + Psychological Horror
Of 136 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror 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.. 135 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, level with the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $180. Revenue is up 200% on the market; 135 games are announced against 74 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $3.8k (exactly $3,835) |
| Top 5% | $88k (exactly $87,556) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 136 |
| Released games | 477 |
| Announced | 135 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 200% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Arcade
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Psychological Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Arcade; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Simulation
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 33,338 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 78 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 135 games are announced against 74 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Arcade with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + TrainsFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + MiningFair
- + FaithFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + LootFair
- + VampiresFair
Comparable games
Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M 
Returnal™ 2023 · $12M 
Muse Dash 2019 · $10M 
Cat Goes Fishing 2015 · $3.2M 
Nubby's Number Factory 2025 · $2.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Geometry Dash | older | $4.99 | 595,606 93% | 18M | $89M (exactly $89,162,218) | RobTop Games |
| | Returnal™ | older | $59.99 | 6,602 79% | 198k | $12M (exactly $11,881,619) | Housemarque, Climax Studios |
| | Muse Dash | older | $2.99 | 112,437 91% | 3.4M | $10M (exactly $10,085,599) | peropero |
| | Cat Goes Fishing | older | $6.99 | 15,431 94% | 463k | $3.2M (exactly $3,235,881) | Cat5Games |
| | Nubby's Number Factory | $4.99 | 18,138 97% | 544k | $2.7M (exactly $2,715,259) | MogDogBlog Productions | |
 | Thumper | older | $19.99 | 4,056 91% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,432,383) | Drool |
 | Alan Wake's American Nightmare | older | $8.99 | 8,352 74% | 251k | $2.3M (exactly $2,252,534) | Remedy Entertainment |
 | Touhou Tenkuushou ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons. | older | $14.99 | 4,312 98% | 129k | $1.9M (exactly $1,939,106) | 上海アリス幻樂団 |
 | FlatOut 4: Total Insanity | older | $29.99 | 1,938 53% | 58k | $1.7M (exactly $1,743,619) | Kylotonn |
 | Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania | older | $29.99 | 1,313 82% | 39k | $1.2M (exactly $1,181,306) | RGG Studio |
 | VHOLUME | $8.00 | 2,992 97% | 90k | $718k (exactly $718,080) | Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels… (Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels Tiercelin) | |
 | That's not my Neighbor | $2.99 | 4,498 88% | 135k | $403k (exactly $403,471) | Nachosama Games | |
 | ButtKnight | $9.99 | 1,299 91% | 39k | $389k (exactly $389,310) | Goblin Stew, Critical Bliss | |
 | SchoolBoy Runaway | $1.99 | 3,731 90% | 112k | $223k (exactly $222,741) | Linked Squad | |
 | Bendy: Lone Wolf | $19.99 | 259 77% | 7.8k | $155k (exactly $155,322) | Joey Drew Studios | |
 | Death In Abyss | $19.99 | 146 82% | 4.4k | $88k (exactly $87,556) | Agelvik | |
 | ZAKO NO AHIRU | $6.99 | 278 87% | 8.3k | $58k (exactly $58,297) | FUファイターズ | |
 | BEHEMOTH | $3.99 | 412 88% | 12k | $49k (exactly $49,316) | The Behemoth | |
 | Furry Aim Trainer | $0.99 | 1,585 93% | 48k | $47k (exactly $47,074) | Pantsu Productions |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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