Games › Dating Sim › Dating Sim + Thriller
Should I ship a Thriller Dating Sim?
Dating Sim + Thriller
Of 44 developers who shipped a Thriller Dating Sim 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.. 57 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $6.0k, ×13 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $780; 1 in 20 cleared $810k, ×1716 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 57 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $779 (exactly $779) |
|---|---|
| Median | $6.0k (exactly $5,990) |
| Top 25% | $36k (exactly $36,434) |
| Top 5% | $815k (exactly $814,884) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 44 |
| Released games | 101 |
| Announced | 57 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 70% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Dating Sim
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
- Thriller
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Dating Sim; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Multiple Endings, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 8,108 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $780. 5 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Dating Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + WarStrong odds
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Souls-likeStrong odds
- + AliensStrong odds
- + PlatformerStrong odds
- + HistoricalFair
- + FPSFair
- + Post-apocalypticFair
- + Quick-Time EventsFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Action-AdventureFair
- + TacticalFair
Comparable games
STEINS;GATE 2016 · $23M 
港詭實錄ParanormalHK 2020 · $7.4M 
Paper Dolls: Original / 纸人 2019 · $2.3M 
Paper Dolls 2 纸人贰 2020 · $1.6M 
Five Hearts Under One Roof season2 2025 · $1.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | STEINS;GATE | older | $29.99 | 25,289 97% | 759k | $23M (exactly $22,752,513) | MAGES. Inc. |
| | 港詭實錄ParanormalHK | older | $12.99 | 18,874 89% | 566k | $7.4M (exactly $7,355,198) | Ghostpie Studio |
| | Paper Dolls: Original / 纸人 | older | $16.99 | 4,449 84% | 133k | $2.3M (exactly $2,267,655) | Beijing Litchi Culture Media Co., Ltd. |
| | Paper Dolls 2 纸人贰 | older | $19.99 | 2,636 82% | 79k | $1.6M (exactly $1,580,809) | Beijing Litchi Culture Media Co., Ltd. |
| | Five Hearts Under One Roof season2 | $22.99 | 2,149 96% | 64k | $1.5M (exactly $1,482,165) | Storytaco | |
 | STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT | $59.99 | 594 88% | 18k | $1.1M (exactly $1,069,022) | MAGES. Inc. | |
 | 노베나 디아볼로스 | older | $18.99 | 1,462 93% | 44k | $833k (exactly $832,901) | H5DEV Games |
 | SubZero | $9.99 | 2,719 92% | 82k | $815k (exactly $814,884) | Joy Media Limited | |
 | 恋爱绮谭~不存在的夏天~ | older | $8.99 | 2,509 93% | 75k | $677k (exactly $676,677) | Never Knows Best |
 | Folie Fatale | older | $5.99 | 2,608 86% | 78k | $469k (exactly $468,658) | Kanmidoko (神海処) |
 | SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim | $14.99 | 715 87% | 21k | $322k (exactly $321,536) | SAFE HAVN STUDIO | |
 | Killed by Love 99 Times | $12.99 | 533 95% | 16k | $208k (exactly $207,710) | CineGame Interactive | |
 | Haunting Havens | $11.99 | 387 71% | 12k | $139k (exactly $139,204) | Ayup Games | |
 | Paper Bride 6 Nightmare | $9.99 | 369 81% | 11k | $111k (exactly $110,589) | HeartBeat Plus | |
 | 规则怪谈：盛崖小区 | $10.99 | 288 71% | 8.6k | $95k (exactly $94,954) | ZHUYUAN Co.,Ltd | |
 | Raining City: Millions Recollections | $11.99 | 254 83% | 7.6k | $91k (exactly $91,364) | Orca Layout | |
 | Veloria | $14.99 | 100 89% | 3.0k | $45k (exactly $44,970) | WANDERING WITCH PROIECTUM |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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