Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Dark Fantasy
Of 106 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy Metroidvania 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.. 322 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.6k, ×15 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $730k, ×1164 the market median. Revenue is up 165% on the market; 322 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) |
| Top 25% | $111k (exactly $111,076) |
| Top 5% | $731k (exactly $731,034) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 106 |
| Released games | 302 |
| Announced | 322 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $11.99 |
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 165% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- 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
- Metroidvania; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Souls-like
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 39,904 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.3k. 8 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 322 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
Hollow Knight 2017 · $226M 
Dead Cells 2018 · $117M 
Blasphemous 2019 · $41M 
Nine Sols 2024 · $36M 
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night 2019 · $35M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hollow Knight | older | $14.99 | 502,960 96% | 15M | $226M (exactly $226,181,112) | Team Cherry |
| | Dead Cells | older | $24.99 | 156,263 97% | 4.7M | $117M (exactly $117,150,371) | Motion Twin |
| | Blasphemous | older | $24.99 | 54,724 90% | 1.6M | $41M (exactly $41,026,583) | The Game Kitchen |
| | Nine Sols | older | $29.99 | 40,138 94% | 1.2M | $36M (exactly $36,112,159) | RedCandleGames |
| | Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | older | $39.99 | 29,588 93% | 888k | $35M (exactly $35,496,724) | ArtPlay |
 | ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights | older | $24.99 | 43,092 93% | 1.3M | $32M (exactly $32,306,072) | Live Wire, Adglobe |
 | Blasphemous 2 | older | $29.99 | 16,808 91% | 504k | $15M (exactly $15,122,158) | The Game Kitchen |
 | Darksiders III | older | $39.99 | 12,519 75% | 376k | $15M (exactly $15,019,044) | Gunfire Games |
 | Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition | older | $29.99 | 16,313 78% | 489k | $15M (exactly $14,676,806) | Gunfire Games, Vigil Games, THQ Nordic |
 | ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist | $24.99 | 17,143 95% | 514k | $13M (exactly $12,852,107) | Adglobe, Live Wire | |
 | Windblown | · EA | $24.99 | 9,066 88% | 272k | $6.8M (exactly $6,796,780) | Motion Twin |
 | Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree | $39.99 | 3,026 75% | 91k | $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292) | Primal Game Studio | |
 | SiNiSistar 2 | $14.99 | 3,545 90% | 106k | $1.6M (exactly $1,594,186) | Uu | |
 | Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter | $24.99 | 1,851 79% | 56k | $1.4M (exactly $1,387,695) | Odd Bug Studio | |
 | Verho - Curse of Faces | $19.99 | 1,219 91% | 37k | $731k (exactly $731,034) | Kasur Games | |
 | AWAKEN - Astral Blade | $19.99 | 1,121 82% | 34k | $672k (exactly $672,264) | Dark Pigeon Games | |
 | The Devil Within: Satgat | $24.99 | 795 78% | 24k | $596k (exactly $596,012) | Newcore Games | |
 | Voidwrought | $19.99 | 936 77% | 28k | $561k (exactly $561,319) | Powersnake | |
 | JUMP KING QUEST | $14.99 | 1,202 88% | 36k | $541k (exactly $540,539) | Nexile |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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