Should I ship a Demon FMV?
FMV + Demons
Only 9 developers shipped a Demon FMV in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Forbidden Solitaire, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 11 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.
Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $11k against a market of $480. 11 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $11k (exactly $11,242) |
| Top 25% | $46k (exactly $46,177) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,076,926) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 29 |
| Announced | 11 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $12.99 |
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 1155% on the market, supply 50% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- FMV
- Price point
- $12.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 2,762 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 11 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FMV with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SurvivalStrong odds
- + Post-apocalypticStrong odds
- + StrategyStrong odds
- + Multiple EndingsStrong odds
- + Immersive SimStrong odds
- + Choices MatterStrong odds
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + RomanceStrong odds
- + SimulationStrong odds
- + JRPGStrong odds
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + RPGStrong odds
Comparable games
Forbidden Solitaire 2026 · $1.1M 
Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins 2021 · $112k 
Heart of the Forest 2026 · $79k 
Stardust Demon 2024 · $46k 
108 Silly Ways to Die 2025 · $38k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Forbidden Solitaire | $15.99 | 2,245 96% | 67k | $1.1M (exactly $1,076,926) | Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertai… (Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertainment) | |
| | Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins | older | $5.99 | 621 91% | 19k | $112k (exactly $111,594) | Maze Theory |
| | Heart of the Forest | $12.99 | 202 70% | 6.1k | $79k (exactly $78,719) | Trapped Predator | |
| | Stardust Demon | $19.99 | 77 83% | 2.3k | $46k (exactly $46,177) | resnijars | |
| | 108 Silly Ways to Die | $10.99 | 115 73% | 3.5k | $38k (exactly $37,916) | SEED Studio | |
 | Hazing - Night Shift | older | $5.99 | 197 68% | 5.9k | $35k (exactly $35,401) | REVVALUTION Studio |
 | Destiny Star Girlfriend | older | $14.99 | 68 92% | 2.0k | $31k (exactly $30,580) | mirai |
 | Iron Disco | older | $9.99 | 101 68% | 3.0k | $30k (exactly $30,270) | Towndarktales |
 | CRUELTY | older | $6.99 | 125 71% | 3.8k | $26k (exactly $26,212) | 838s Maniacs |
 | Muchi Muchi SEXTRA | older | $6.99 | 86 94% | 2.6k | $18k (exactly $18,034) | ぬるぬる坊主 |
 | Destiny Star Girlfriend 2 | $14.99 | 25 92% | 750 | $11k (exactly $11,242) | mirai | |
 | Destiny Star Girlfriend 3 | $14.99 | 25 96% | 750 | $11k (exactly $11,242) | mirai | |
 | ニコニコさん | Niconico-san | $2.99 | 63 96% | 1.9k | $5.7k (exactly $5,651) | TI-BA | |
 | OKeverything:Evil Boy 1001 Sinful Reincarnations | $9.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | X.OKE.FAN | |
 | Dankenstoned’s Bongster’s Gram Smoker’s Stankula | $1.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $298 (exactly $298) | Finnsoft | |
 | Libera Nos a Malo | $1.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $179 (exactly $179) | Necronomicon Games |
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.