Do I ship it?

GamesDungeon CrawlerDungeon Crawler + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Dungeon Crawler?

Dungeon Crawler + Psychological Horror

Of 122 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Dungeon Crawler 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.. 214 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×2230 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 214 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 214 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Dungeon Crawler + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 122
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $1.4k → $1.5k → $719 → $1.6k → $2.5k → $807 (still earning) → $179 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Dungeon Crawler + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 122
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $8.2k (exactly $8,150)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,059,440)
Developers, 2 yr 122
Released games 283
Announced 214
Effort 4 / 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 down 65% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Dungeon Crawler
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Psychological Horror
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Dungeon Crawler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Survival Horror
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 173,701 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $900, 1 in 4 over $8.1k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 69 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 214 games are announced against 57 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Dungeon Crawler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Time ManagementFair35 devs · median $7.0k · 44 announced
  2. + GamblingFair16 devs · median $7.0k · 17 announced
  3. + DiceFair24 devs · median $5.1k · 32 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair29 devs · median $2.3k · 38 announced
  5. + Local Co-OpFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 60 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair65 devs · median $1.0k · 74 announced
  7. + Word GameFair12 devs · median $899 · 15 announced
  8. + ThrillerFair45 devs · median $716 · 46 announced
  9. + Walking SimulatorFair59 devs · median $479 · 62 announced
  10. + Score AttackFair29 devs · median $479 · 33 announced
  11. + MMORPGPoor odds10 devs · median $144k · 80 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds8 devs · median $55k · 30 announced

All 175 pairs on the Dungeon Crawler page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lethal Company · EA older $9.99 411,550 97% 12M $123M (exactly $123,341,535) Zeekerss
Escape the Backrooms $9.99 137,315 90% 4.1M $41M (exactly $41,153,306) Fancy Games, Blackbird Interactive
Fear & Hunger 2: Termina older $11.99 14,232 97% 427k $5.1M (exactly $5,119,250) Miro Haverinen
Fear & Hunger older $7.99 20,881 94% 626k $5.0M (exactly $5,005,176) Miro Haverinen
MIMESIS · EA $9.99 8,396 84% 252k $2.5M (exactly $2,516,281) ReLU Games, Inc.
BLACK SOULS II $13.99 5,277 97% 158k $2.2M (exactly $2,214,757) Eeny, meeny, miny, moe?
Hylics 2 older $14.99 3,158 96% 95k $1.4M (exactly $1,420,153) Mason Lindroth
Psychopomp GOLD $8.99 4,884 97% 147k $1.3M (exactly $1,317,215) Fading Club
Labyrinth Of The Demon King $19.99 2,116 92% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,268,965) J. R. Hudepohl
Cryptmaster older $24.99 1,671 94% 50k $1.3M (exactly $1,252,749) Paul Hart, Lee Williams, Akupara Games
Murky Divers $8.99 3,981 87% 119k $1.1M (exactly $1,073,676) Embers
Subliminal $9.99 3,535 74% 106k $1.1M (exactly $1,059,440) Accidental Studios
Emissary Zero $8.99 2,683 83% 80k $724k (exactly $723,605) Rone Vine
Horripilant $7.99 2,928 92% 88k $702k (exactly $701,842) Alexandre Declos , Pas Game Studio
Scarlet Idol $7.99 2,586 66% 78k $620k (exactly $619,864) 山雨工作室

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