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Should I ship a Demon Runner?
Runner + Demons
Of 23 developers who shipped a Demon Runner 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.. 17 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 16 developers shipped in the last year and 17 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $89 (exactly $89) |
|---|---|
| Median | $298 (exactly $298) |
| Top 25% | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) |
| Top 5% | $22k (exactly $22,018) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 77 |
| Announced | 17 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 up 300% on the market, supply 130% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Runner; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, FPS
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Difficult
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 365 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $89. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 17 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Runner with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LootFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + FPSLong shot
- + 4 Player LocalPoor odds
- + MusicPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Interactive FictionPoor odds
Comparable games
SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell 2016 · $922k 
Super Dark Deception 2024 · $356k 
Warstride Challenges 2023 · $145k 
Rabbit Riot 2021 · $59k 
Hell of an Office 2024 · $54k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell | older | $14.99 | 2,050 95% | 62k | $922k (exactly $921,885) | Pine Studio |
| | Super Dark Deception | older | $17.99 | 660 65% | 20k | $356k (exactly $356,202) | Glowstick Entertainment |
| | Warstride Challenges | older | $19.99 | 242 89% | 7.3k | $145k (exactly $145,127) | Dream Powered Games |
| | Rabbit Riot | older | $39.99 | 49 87% | 1.5k | $59k (exactly $58,785) | Reactor Studios |
| | Hell of an Office | $14.99 | 121 89% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $54,414) | 43 Studios | |
 | Abyss Runner | $6.99 | 105 86% | 3.2k | $22k (exactly $22,018) | Asuwawagami | |
 | Moto Rush Reborn | $12.99 | 43 97% | 1.3k | $17k (exactly $16,757) | Baltoro Games | |
 | Otherwar | older | $5.99 | 59 66% | 1.8k | $11k (exactly $10,602) | kantal collective |
 | The Backrooms: Rescue Expedition | $9.99 | 21 33% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | {CRYTIME} | |
 | ClickMonster | older | $4.99 | 42 66% | 1.3k | $6.3k (exactly $6,287) | Wertex Games |
 | Campfire: Night One | $14.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) | Prisca, Mezey Krisztián | |
 | Hell Runner | $14.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) | Moonlight Studio | |
 | Jenny Love You | $4.99 | 23 69% | 690 | $3.4k (exactly $3,443) | Phantom Pixel | |
 | Perfect Liar | $3.99 | 20 100% | 600 | $2.4k (exactly $2,394) | eightworks allware | |
 | RealityIQ | الواقع | $4.99 | 9 100% | 270 | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) | kajol | |
 | The Pilgrim's Progress | $24.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $750 (exactly $750) | Elvio Lujan |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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