Do I ship it?

Games › Combat › Combat + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Combat game?

Combat + Psychological

Of 57 developers who shipped a Psychological Combat 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.. 136 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×1723 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 136 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 136 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Combat + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $1.5k → $5.0k → $4.2k → $899 → $13k → $269 (still earning) → $898 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Combat + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,496)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,082,339)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 127
Announced 136
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 80% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Combat
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Combat; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Survival Horror
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 28,668 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $900, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 136 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds14 devs · median $15k · 12 announced
  2. + 4XFair32 devs · median $3.8k · 48 announced
  3. + TypingFair20 devs · median $2.2k · 26 announced
  4. + VampiresFair54 devs · median $1.9k · 64 announced
  5. + SnowFair21 devs · median $1.2k · 24 announced
  6. + Walking SimulatorFair51 devs · median $599 · 61 announced
  7. + Match 3Long shot13 devs · median $359 · 16 announced
  8. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds32 devs · median $55k · 85 announced
  9. + Political SimPoor odds14 devs · median $49k · 22 announced
  10. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds21 devs · median $31k · 47 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds23 devs · median $19k · 45 announced
  12. + LGBTQ+Poor odds52 devs · median $16k · 90 announced

All 248 pairs on the Combat page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

SILENT HILL f 2025 · $40M BONELAB 2022 · $22M Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga 2024 · $14M Sherlock Holmes Chapter One 2021 · $5.7M Alone in the Dark 2024 · $4.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SILENT HILL f $69.99 19,061 80% 572k $40M (exactly $40,022,382) NeoBards Entertainment Ltd.
BONELAB older $39.99 18,670 82% 560k $22M (exactly $22,398,399) Stress Level Zero
Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga older $49.99 9,381 86% 281k $14M (exactly $14,068,686) Ninja Theory
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One older $44.99 4,189 77% 126k $5.7M (exactly $5,653,893) Frogwares
Alone in the Dark older $39.99 3,325 77% 100k $4.0M (exactly $3,989,002) Pieces Interactive
Psychopomp GOLD $8.99 4,884 97% 147k $1.3M (exactly $1,317,215) Fading Club
The Thing: Remastered $29.99 1,203 89% 36k $1.1M (exactly $1,082,339) Nightdive Studios, Computer Artworks
The Lantern of the Laughless Saint · EA $19.99 1,460 89% 44k $876k (exactly $875,562) NerveLabs
A.I.L.A $29.99 889 81% 27k $800k (exactly $799,833) Pulsatrix Studios
The Last Case of Benedict Fox Definitive Edition older $24.99 786 71% 24k $589k (exactly $589,264) Plot Twist
Deep Sleep: Labyrinth of the Forsaken $19.99 595 94% 18k $357k (exactly $356,822) scriptwelder
Beneath $19.99 262 69% 7.9k $157k (exactly $157,121) Camel 101
ANGST: A TALE OF SURVIVAL $7.99 227 86% 6.8k $54k (exactly $54,412) Cherrypick Games
Vampire Hunter: Nightrise $14.99 31 93% 930 $14k (exactly $13,941) Over The Moon
The Scarlet Harvest $7.99 56 80% 1.7k $13k (exactly $13,423) @TonyDevGame

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.