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Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Card Game?
Card Game + Psychological Horror
Of 43 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Card 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.. 70 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $7.5k, ×16 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.5M, ×3278 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 70 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
|---|---|
| Median | $7.5k (exactly $7,547) |
| Top 25% | $35k (exactly $35,192) |
| Top 5% | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 43 |
| Released games | 90 |
| Announced | 70 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Card Game
- effort 2 / 10 · high · rules engine and card data
- 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
- Card Game; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Deckbuilding, Strategy, Adventure
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 44,338 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 3 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 70 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Card Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SteampunkFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + DogsFair
- + MahjongFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + Board GameFair
- + PuzzleFair
- + Dating SimPoor odds
Comparable games
Library Of Ruina 2021 · $37M 
Sultan's Game 2025 · $19M 
Cultist Simulator 2018 · $6.3M 
WORLD OF HORROR 2023 · $5.4M 
Poker Night at the Inventory 2026 · $2.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Library Of Ruina | older | $29.99 | 40,605 94% | 1.2M | $37M (exactly $36,532,318) | ProjectMoon |
| | Sultan's Game | $24.99 | 25,061 93% | 752k | $19M (exactly $18,788,232) | Double Cross | |
| | Cultist Simulator | older | $19.99 | 10,496 82% | 315k | $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) | Weather Factory |
| | WORLD OF HORROR | older | $19.99 | 8,991 89% | 270k | $5.4M (exactly $5,391,903) | panstasz |
| | Poker Night at the Inventory | $9.99 | 8,143 94% | 244k | $2.4M (exactly $2,440,457) | Skunkape Games | |
 | Card Survival: Tropical Island | older | $24.99 | 2,962 94% | 89k | $2.2M (exactly $2,220,611) | WinterSpring Games |
 | Matchmaking Inc. | $8.99 | 5,773 87% | 173k | $1.6M (exactly $1,556,978) | Wave Games | |
 | Spirit Island | older | $24.99 | 1,545 91% | 46k | $1.2M (exactly $1,158,286) | Handelabra Games Inc. |
 | Deck of Haunts | $19.99 | 1,206 84% | 36k | $723k (exactly $723,238) | Mantis | |
 | Out Of Hands | $17.99 | 1,322 93% | 40k | $713k (exactly $713,483) | Game River | |
 | Roots Devour | $14.99 | 479 68% | 14k | $215k (exactly $215,406) | Rewinding Games | |
 | the cabin game | · EA | $11.99 | 362 86% | 11k | $130k (exactly $130,211) | Twisted Corridor👻 |
 | GOOOOOOAL! | $1.99 | 1,652 94% | 50k | $99k (exactly $98,624) | Lohsoft | |
 | Exorcism Agency | $12.99 | 222 91% | 6.7k | $87k (exactly $86,513) | YINGGUO GAME | |
 | THE SPIRIT LIFT | $19.99 | 118 94% | 3.5k | $71k (exactly $70,765) | prettysmart games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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