Should I ship a Demon PvE game?
PvE + Demons
Of 163 developers who shipped a Demon PvE 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.. 283 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×324 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 283 games are announced against 87 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $718 (exactly $718) |
| Top 25% | $6.1k (exactly $6,115) |
| Top 5% | $204k (exactly $203,714) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 163 |
| Released games | 406 |
| Announced | 283 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, 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 83% positive over 22,600 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 89 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 283 games are announced against 87 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
Comparable games
Diablo® IV 2023 · $88M 
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters 2022 · $15M 
Zombie Army 4: Dead War 2021 · $15M 
Ghost Watchers 2025 · $5.7M 
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 2025 · $5.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Diablo® IV | older | $49.99 | 58,668 69% | 1.8M | $88M (exactly $87,984,400) | Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters | older | $44.99 | 11,426 76% | 343k | $15M (exactly $15,421,672) | Complex Games |
| | Zombie Army 4: Dead War | older | $49.99 | 10,028 86% | 301k | $15M (exactly $15,038,992) | Rebellion |
| | Ghost Watchers | $14.99 | 12,729 86% | 382k | $5.7M (exactly $5,724,231) | Renderise | |
| | Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 | $59.99 | 2,879 83% | 86k | $5.2M (exactly $5,181,336) | CyberConnect2 | |
 | Pacify | older | $4.99 | 32,921 86% | 988k | $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) | Shawn Hitchcock |
 | Dungeons 4 | older | $49.99 | 2,392 86% | 72k | $3.6M (exactly $3,587,282) | Realmforge Studios |
 | Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Extraction | older | $39.99 | 2,865 66% | 86k | $3.4M (exactly $3,437,140) | Ubisoft Montreal |
 | Warhammer: Chaosbane | older | $29.99 | 3,274 60% | 98k | $2.9M (exactly $2,945,618) | Eko Software |
 | Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection | older | $29.99 | 1,306 74% | 39k | $1.2M (exactly $1,175,008) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | 33 Immortals | $14.89 | 2,130 72% | 64k | $951k (exactly $951,471) | Thunder Lotus | |
 | Trench Tales | · EA | $24.99 | 601 69% | 18k | $451k (exactly $450,570) | Talking Drums |
 | Priest Simulator: Vampire Show | $19.99 | 735 94% | 22k | $441k (exactly $440,779) | Asmodev | |
 | DAIMON BLADES | · EA | $19.90 | 707 69% | 21k | $422k (exactly $422,079) | StreumOn Studio |
 | Paranormal Cleanup | $9.99 | 961 88% | 29k | $288k (exactly $288,012) | Manic Mice | |
 | Ghost Janitors | $9.99 | 917 87% | 28k | $275k (exactly $274,825) | Interactive Wave Studio | |
 | Tower of Kalemonvo | $14.99 | 453 83% | 14k | $204k (exactly $203,714) | osur | |
 | YOU ARE THE MONSTER | · EA | $9.99 | 488 69% | 15k | $146k (exactly $146,254) | Joshua Hughes |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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