Games › Choose Your Own Adventure › Choose Your Own Adventure + Psychological
Should I ship a Psychological Choose Your Own Adventure game?
Choose Your Own Adventure + Psychological
Of 162 developers who shipped a Psychological Choose Your Own Adventure 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.. 346 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $300k, ×635 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 346 games are announced against 102 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,525) |
| Top 25% | $9.3k (exactly $9,291) |
| Top 5% | $302k (exactly $301,798) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 162 |
| Released games | 445 |
| Announced | 346 |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Choose Your Own Adventure
- effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state
- Psychological
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Choose Your Own Adventure; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Visual Novel, Adventure, Multiple Endings
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 78,983 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 87 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 346 games are announced against 102 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Choose Your Own Adventure with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RhythmStrong odds
- + FMVFair
- + FlightFair
- + SportsFair
- + Word GameFair
- + MilitaryFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + 3D FighterLong shot
- + NavalPoor odds
Comparable games
NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD 2022 · $26M 
Revenge on gold diggers 2025 · $9.8M 
Minds Beneath Us 2024 · $3.4M 
BURIED STARS 2021 · $2.5M 
Your Turn To Die -Death Game By Majority- 2023 · EA · $2.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD | older | $15.99 | 54,053 94% | 1.6M | $26M (exactly $25,929,224) | WSS playground, xemono |
| | Revenge on gold diggers | $6.99 | 46,610 80% | 1.4M | $9.8M (exactly $9,774,117) | 前方工作室 | |
| | Minds Beneath Us | older | $19.99 | 5,749 96% | 172k | $3.4M (exactly $3,447,675) | BearBoneStudio |
| | BURIED STARS | older | $39.99 | 2,117 83% | 64k | $2.5M (exactly $2,539,765) | LINE Games Corporation |
| | Your Turn To Die -Death Game By Majority- | · EA older | $16.99 | 4,122 97% | 124k | $2.1M (exactly $2,100,983) | Nankidai |
 | Class of '09: The Re-Up | older | $14.99 | 4,496 97% | 135k | $2.0M (exactly $2,021,851) | SBN3 |
 | Amanda the Adventurer | older | $8.99 | 5,931 94% | 178k | $1.6M (exactly $1,599,591) | MANGLEDmaw Games |
 | G.O.P.O.T.A | older | $29.99 | 1,493 81% | 45k | $1.3M (exactly $1,343,252) | VD Games, PropilGames |
 | The NOexistenceN of you AND me | $1.99 | 20,139 93% | 604k | $1.2M (exactly $1,202,298) | 0x0Real Studio | |
 | The Test | older | $1.99 | 19,599 96% | 588k | $1.2M (exactly $1,170,060) | Randumb Studios |
 | Rue Valley | $14.99 | 1,905 69% | 57k | $857k (exactly $856,678) | Emotion Spark Studio | |
 | 极速营救 | $9.99 | 1,860 86% | 56k | $557k (exactly $557,442) | 优映文化, 想象颗粒 | |
 | and Roger | $4.99 | 2,703 95% | 81k | $405k (exactly $404,639) | TearyHand Studio | |
 | 我打不过漂亮的她们 | $10.99 | 1,111 95% | 33k | $366k (exactly $366,297) | 想象颗粒 | |
 | While We Wait Here | $4.99 | 2,344 89% | 70k | $351k (exactly $350,897) | Bad Vices Games | |
 | Mojika - Truth Rears Its Ugly Head | $24.99 | 413 77% | 12k | $310k (exactly $309,626) | NITRO ORIGIN | |
 | Soul Touch | $9.99 | 1,007 97% | 30k | $302k (exactly $301,798) | URAYAHA.TECH | |
 | I Hate My Waifu Streamer | $9.99 | 891 92% | 27k | $267k (exactly $267,033) | Nozori Games |
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.