Games › Bullet Hell › Bullet Hell + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Bullet Hell?
Bullet Hell + Psychological Horror
Of 24 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Bullet Hell 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.. 64 more are announced, ×4.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $49k, ×104 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 64 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $449 (exactly $449) |
| Top 25% | $6.6k (exactly $6,593) |
| Top 5% | $49k (exactly $49,316) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 96 |
| Announced | 64 |
| 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 down 85% on the market, supply 10% 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.
- Bullet Hell
- 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
- Bullet Hell; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 1,998 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 7 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Bullet Hell with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SuperheroStrong odds
- + FaithFair
- + VampiresFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + PiratesFair
- + CatsFair
- + HackingFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Naval CombatFair
Comparable games
Undertale 2015 · $92M 
Returnal™ 2023 · $12M 
Touhou Tenkuushou ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons. 2017 · $1.9M 
永远消失的幻想乡 ～ The Disappearing of Gensokyo 2018 · $997k 
Angel at Dusk 2024 · $754k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Undertale | older | $9.99 | 307,601 96% | 9.2M | $92M (exactly $92,188,020) | tobyfox |
| | Returnal™ | older | $59.99 | 6,602 79% | 198k | $12M (exactly $11,881,619) | Housemarque, Climax Studios |
| | 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 |
| | 永远消失的幻想乡 ～ The Disappearing of Gensokyo | older | $10.99 | 3,023 83% | 91k | $997k (exactly $996,683) | MyACG Studio |
| | Angel at Dusk | older | $14.99 | 1,676 98% | 50k | $754k (exactly $753,697) | Akiragoya |
 | Touhou Fuujinroku ~ Mountain of Faith. | older | $14.99 | 1,621 98% | 49k | $729k (exactly $728,964) | 上海アリス幻樂団 |
 | Touhou Kanjuden ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. | older | $14.99 | 1,516 98% | 45k | $682k (exactly $681,745) | 上海アリス幻樂団 |
 | Picayune Dreams | older | $4.99 | 4,164 98% | 125k | $623k (exactly $623,351) | Stepford, Andyland, milkypossum |
 | ButtKnight | $9.99 | 1,299 91% | 39k | $389k (exactly $389,310) | Goblin Stew, Critical Bliss | |
 | Touhou Chireiden ~ Subterranean Animism. | older | $14.99 | 809 97% | 24k | $364k (exactly $363,807) | 上海アリス幻樂団 |
 | BEHEMOTH | $3.99 | 412 88% | 12k | $49k (exactly $49,316) | The Behemoth | |
 | Dreamed Away | $18.99 | 59 91% | 1.8k | $34k (exactly $33,612) | WAKE UP GAMES | |
 | Bittersweet Birthday | $17.99 | 26 92% | 780 | $14k (exactly $14,032) | World Eater Games | |
 | KUNKUN League | $2.99 | 123 98% | 3.7k | $11k (exactly $11,033) | Seal | |
 | NeverAwake FLASHBACK | $9.99 | 22 86% | 660 | $6.6k (exactly $6,593) | Neotro Inc. | |
 | Retro Abyss : Last Wish Of The Game | $4.99 | 30 93% | 900 | $4.5k (exactly $4,491) | Ben Big Game Studio | |
 | Bioysque | $7.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $3.1k (exactly $3,116) | Arkhouse Telegraph | |
 | Plinkomancy | $9.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) | Fazerdoo | |
 | Kuentame | $5.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) | ApeHardware |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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