Games › Logic › Logic + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Logic game?
Logic + Dark Fantasy
Of 57 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy Logic 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.. 79 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $98k, ×156 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 79 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $210 (exactly $210) |
|---|---|
| Median | $449 (exactly $449) |
| Top 25% | $2.0k (exactly $1,978) |
| Top 5% | $98k (exactly $98,204) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 57 |
| Released games | 165 |
| Announced | 79 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Logic
- effort 2 / 10 · high · deductive rules and grids
- Dark Fantasy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Logic; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Puzzle, Adventure, Strategy
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 2D, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 4,013 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 36 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Logic with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LovecraftianFair
- + City BuilderFair
- + NoirFair
- + HackingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + DragonsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Bullet TimeFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + TransportationFair
- + Automobile SimFair
- + CookingFair
Comparable games
Is this Game Trying to Kill Me? 2024 · $680k 
Trainee Death Simulator 2024 · $314k 
İblis3:Phenomena 2025 · $98k 
Personal Study 2024 · EA · $87k 
Time Lock VR 2 2022 · $66k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Is this Game Trying to Kill Me? | $14.99 | 1,513 95% | 45k | $680k (exactly $680,396) | Stately Snail | |
| | Trainee Death Simulator | $5.99 | 1,746 92% | 52k | $314k (exactly $313,756) | Bone Nail | |
| | İblis3:Phenomena | $12.99 | 252 56% | 7.6k | $98k (exactly $98,204) | Bulut ULU | |
| | Personal Study | · EA older | $7.99 | 361 90% | 11k | $87k (exactly $86,532) | ArcaneSpoon |
| | Time Lock VR 2 | older | $12.99 | 170 88% | 5.1k | $66k (exactly $66,249) | WR-VRG |
 | He Who Watches | $19.99 | 109 96% | 3.3k | $65k (exactly $65,367) | Bobby Vanden | |
 | Ire: A Prologue | $19.99 | 77 61% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $46,177) | ProbablyMonsters | |
 | Kharon's Crypt - Even Death May Die | older | $14.99 | 87 96% | 2.6k | $39k (exactly $39,124) | Hebi Lee |
 | Mirklurk: Every Step Matters | · EA | $11.99 | 101 95% | 3.0k | $36k (exactly $36,330) | Edym Pixels |
 | Spooky Express | $14.99 | 80 98% | 2.4k | $36k (exactly $35,976) | Draknek and Friends | |
 | Dimwood | $14.99 | 47 100% | 1.4k | $21k (exactly $21,136) | Inkspun LLC | |
 | Azoove | $14.99 | 46 91% | 1.4k | $21k (exactly $20,686) | Timeless Toucan | |
 | Sliding Hero | $14.99 | 42 88% | 1.3k | $19k (exactly $18,887) | Silent Chicken |
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.