Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Cyberpunk
Should I ship a Cyberpunk Perma Death game?
Perma Death + Cyberpunk
Of 40 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk Perma Death 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.. 66 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $730k, ×1175 the market median. Revenue is up 1050% on the market; 66 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,015) |
| Top 25% | $5.8k (exactly $5,755) |
| Top 5% | $738k (exactly $737,705) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 40 |
| Released games | 111 |
| Announced | 66 |
| 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 1050% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Perma Death
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Cyberpunk
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Perma Death; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelike
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 5,616 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Perma Death with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Strong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + PiratesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Invisible, Inc. | older | $19.99 | 5,096 91% | 153k | $3.1M (exactly $3,056,071) | Klei Entertainment |
| | Cyber Knights: Flashpoint | $29.99 | 2,926 93% | 88k | $2.6M (exactly $2,632,522) | Trese Brothers | |
| | Deadlink | older | $24.99 | 2,871 90% | 86k | $2.2M (exactly $2,152,389) | Gruby Entertainment |
| | Oblivion Override | older | $17.99 | 1,692 90% | 51k | $913k (exactly $913,172) | Humble Mill |
| | Battle Shapers | $24.99 | 984 80% | 30k | $738k (exactly $737,705) | Metric Empire | |
| | Uplink | older | $11.99 | 1,771 89% | 53k | $637k (exactly $637,029) | Introversion Software |
| | Receiver | older | $4.99 | 2,603 85% | 78k | $390k (exactly $389,669) | Wolfire Games |
| | Doomsday Hunters | older | $15.99 | 703 89% | 21k | $337k (exactly $337,229) | Moregames |
| | Ascend to ZERO | $11.99 | 867 82% | 26k | $312k (exactly $311,860) | Flyway Games, Inc. | |
| | Orbital Bullet – The 360° Rogue-lite | older | $16.99 | 601 82% | 18k | $306k (exactly $306,330) | SmokeStab |
| | WAR RATS: The Rat em Up | $11.99 | 382 95% | 11k | $137k (exactly $137,405) | wootusart Industries | |
| | 868-BACK | $19.99 | 122 98% | 3.7k | $73k (exactly $73,163) | Michael Brough | |
| | Corebreaker | · EA | $7.99 | 161 92% | 4.8k | $39k (exactly $38,592) | aQuadiun |
| | Gunstoppable | $12.49 | 58 81% | 1.7k | $22k (exactly $21,733) | CAGE Studios | |
| | BloodDome99 | $4.99 | 79 94% | 2.4k | $12k (exactly $11,826) | Halftone Gaming | |
| | Torment Hexus | · EA | $9.99 | 21 100% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | TMA Games LLC |
| | Amy Hates Robots | $11.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $5.8k (exactly $5,755) | Rogue Robin Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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