Games › Base Building › Base Building + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Base Building game?
Base Building + Psychological Horror
Only 7 developers shipped a Psychological-Horror Base Building game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Subnautica 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 50 more are announced, ×17 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.4k against a market of $630. 50 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $1.0k (exactly $1,010) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,435) |
| Top 25% | $28M (exactly $28,170,938) |
| Top 5% | $105M (exactly $105,131,744) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 7 |
| Released games | 29 |
| Announced | 50 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $15.99 |
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 down 100% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Base Building
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Psychological Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Base Building
- Price point
- $15.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 151,519 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 4 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×17 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Base Building with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ProgrammingFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
- + SailingPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + UndergroundPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
Subnautica 2 2026 · EA · $105M 
Frostpunk 2 2024 · $28M 
METAL GEAR SURVIVE 2018 · $3.3M 
REKA 2024 · EA · $1.8M 
Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight 2010 · $1.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Subnautica 2 | · EA | $29.99 | 116,852 91% | 3.5M | $105M (exactly $105,131,744) | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
| | Frostpunk 2 | $44.99 | 20,872 74% | 626k | $28M (exactly $28,170,938) | 11 bit studios | |
| | METAL GEAR SURVIVE | older | $29.99 | 3,687 64% | 111k | $3.3M (exactly $3,317,194) | KONAMI |
| | REKA | · EA older | $19.99 | 2,989 82% | 90k | $1.8M (exactly $1,792,503) | Emberstorm Entertainment |
| | Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight | older | $6.96 | 4,832 16% | 145k | $1.0M (exactly $1,008,922) | EA Los Angeles |
 | Deck of Haunts | $19.99 | 1,206 84% | 36k | $723k (exactly $723,238) | Mantis | |
 | Pets Hotel | older | $17.99 | 313 79% | 9.4k | $169k (exactly $168,926) | Games Incubator |
 | Dishwashing Simulator | older | $9.99 | 507 86% | 15k | $152k (exactly $151,948) | Frinky, Frosty |
 | Descending The Woods | · EA older | $18.99 | 111 47% | 3.3k | $63k (exactly $63,237) | AIONWARE LTD |
 | Waste Walkers | older | $8.99 | 150 80% | 4.5k | $40k (exactly $40,455) | Corrosive Studios LLC |
 | Spin to Survive | $2.99 | 16 93% | 480 | $1.4k (exactly $1,435) | Seal | |
 | DR4X | $0.99 | 34 88% | 1.0k | $1.0k (exactly $1,010) | Untrustedlife | |
 | Backrooms: The Yellow Dream | $2.99 | 7 71% | 210 | $628 (exactly $628) | Crow Games | |
 | SurrounDead Poly Japan Sakura | · EA | $15.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $480 (exactly $480) | LivingEveryday |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.