Do I ship it?

Games › Score Attack › Score Attack + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Score Attack game?

Score Attack + Dark Fantasy

Of 83 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy Score Attack 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.. 112 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 $750, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $590k, ×950 the market median. Revenue is up 140% on the market; 112 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 112 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Score Attack + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 83
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.8k → $18k → $2.2k → $628 → $719 → $2.9k → $1.7k (still earning) → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Score Attack + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 83
Bottom 30% $178 (exactly $178)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $9.3k (exactly $9,348)
Top 5% $597k (exactly $596,501)
Developers, 2 yr 83
Released games 183
Announced 112
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 140% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Dark Fantasy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Score Attack; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Bullet Hell, Roguelite
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 49,017 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $750, 1 in 4 over $9.3k, 1 in 20 over $590k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 7 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 112 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + MechsFair23 devs · median $6.2k · 24 announced
  2. + Spectacle fighterFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  3. + DragonsFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  4. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $1.7k · 14 announced
  5. + CookingFair28 devs · median $1.4k · 30 announced
  6. + SuperheroFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 5 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair112 devs · median $1.2k · 104 announced
  8. + GolfFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  9. + GothicFair20 devs · median $959 · 14 announced
  10. + ModernFair53 devs · median $899 · 43 announced
  11. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair14 devs · median $898 · 11 announced
  12. + UndergroundFair23 devs · median $748 · 18 announced

All 200 pairs on the Score Attack page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Vampire Survivors 2022 · $38M Metal: Hellsinger 2022 · $13M Soulstone Survivors 2025 · $12M The Spell Brigade 2026 · $5.7M 20 Minutes Till Dawn 2023 · $4.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Vampire Survivors older $4.99 251,686 98% 7.6M $38M (exactly $37,677,394) poncle
Metal: Hellsinger older $29.99 13,989 96% 420k $13M (exactly $12,585,903) The Outsiders
Soulstone Survivors $14.99 25,749 91% 772k $12M (exactly $11,579,325) Game Smithing Limited
The Spell Brigade $12.99 14,731 80% 442k $5.7M (exactly $5,740,671) Bolt Blaster Games
20 Minutes Till Dawn older $4.99 27,872 90% 836k $4.2M (exactly $4,172,438) flanne
Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection older $29.99 1,306 74% 39k $1.2M (exactly $1,175,008) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
KILL KNIGHT $14.99 1,804 93% 54k $811k (exactly $811,259) PlaySide
Boneraiser Minions older $4.99 4,967 96% 149k $744k (exactly $743,560) caiys
Bloodshed $12.99 1,824 84% 55k $711k (exactly $710,813) com8com1 Software
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny $29.99 663 85% 20k $597k (exactly $596,501) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Wizordum $19.99 880 91% 26k $528k (exactly $527,736) Emberheart Games
Achilles: Survivor $8.99 1,454 81% 44k $392k (exactly $392,144) Dark Point Games
Sineus Arena Survivors $10.99 1,150 77% 35k $379k (exactly $379,155) Sineus Games
Entropy Survivors $9.99 487 80% 15k $146k (exactly $145,954) Moving Pieces Interactive
HELLBREAK $14.99 275 76% 8.3k $124k (exactly $123,668) Double Barrel Games

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