Games › Crafting › Crafting + Psychological
Should I ship a Psychological Crafting game?
Crafting + Psychological
Of 20 developers who shipped a Psychological Crafting 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.. 44 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $16M, ×25624 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 44 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
| Top 25% | $7.4k (exactly $7,431) |
| Top 5% | $16M (exactly $16,091,901) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 37 |
| Announced | 44 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 55% on the market, supply 135% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Crafting
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Psychological
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Crafting; all of the top 25% also carry Action-Adventure, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $34.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Third Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $34.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 17,289 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 44 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Crafting with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + SportsFair
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + IdlerFair
- + SolitaireFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + WesternPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
Comparable games
This War of Mine 2014 · $49M 
The Alters 2025 · $16M 
Total Chaos 2025 · $1.2M 
Grey Skies: A War of the Worlds Story 2020 · $55k 
ANGST: A TALE OF SURVIVAL 2025 · $54k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | This War of Mine | older | $19.99 | 81,804 93% | 2.5M | $49M (exactly $49,057,859) | 11 bit studios |
| | The Alters | $34.99 | 15,330 90% | 460k | $16M (exactly $16,091,901) | 11 bit studios | |
| | Total Chaos | $24.99 | 1,561 86% | 47k | $1.2M (exactly $1,170,282) | Trigger Happy Interactive | |
| | Grey Skies: A War of the Worlds Story | older | $11.99 | 154 35% | 4.6k | $55k (exactly $55,394) | Steel Arts Software |
| | ANGST: A TALE OF SURVIVAL | $7.99 | 227 86% | 6.8k | $54k (exactly $54,412) | Cherrypick Games | |
 | Siren's Well | $24.99 | 62 66% | 1.9k | $46k (exactly $46,481) | OneManOnly Studios | |
 | Bring to Light | older | $19.99 | 34 61% | 1.0k | $20k (exactly $20,390) | Red Meat Games |
 | The Blight | · EA older | $19.99 | 32 46% | 960 | $19k (exactly $19,190) | Ethereal Entertainment Tmi |
 | Confronted | · EA | $7.99 | 31 100% | 930 | $7.4k (exactly $7,431) | Grumpy Rock Studios |
 | Blind Boris | older | $12.99 | 15 53% | 450 | $5.8k (exactly $5,846) | Marginal act |
 | Habit Puzzles | $9.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) | NQNStudios | |
 | Beggar's Life | $2.99 | 33 60% | 990 | $3.0k (exactly $2,960) | Perennial Hearts LLC | |
 | Housekeeper: Anomaly | $5.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $2.5k (exactly $2,516) | Alex Grim | |
 | Pepper Odyssey | $9.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) | Wavey Games | |
 | Chopped toys | $4.99 | 12 83% | 360 | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) | Hushed Cat |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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