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Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Escape Room game?
Escape Room + Psychological Horror
Of 78 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Escape Room 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.. 70 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.7k, ×9.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.2k. Revenue is flat on the market; 70 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.7k (exactly $4,668) |
| Top 25% | $25k (exactly $25,150) |
| Top 5% | $932k (exactly $932,228) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 78 |
| Released games | 172 |
| Announced | 70 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 15% fewer 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.
- Escape Room
- effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high band
- Psychological Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Escape Room; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 156,816 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 8 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 70 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Escape Room with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SimulationStrong odds
- + Online Co-OpFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + SupernaturalFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + MysteryFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + HorrorFair
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + AdventureFair
- + ExplorationFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Escape the Backrooms | $9.99 | 137,315 90% | 4.1M | $41M (exactly $41,153,306) | Fancy Games, Blackbird Interactive | |
| | We Were Here Forever | older | $17.99 | 16,256 90% | 488k | $8.8M (exactly $8,773,363) | Total Mayhem Games |
| | Zero Escape: The Nonary Games | older | $29.99 | 7,007 92% | 210k | $6.3M (exactly $6,304,198) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. |
| | We Were Here Together | older | $12.99 | 14,481 82% | 434k | $5.6M (exactly $5,643,246) | Total Mayhem Games |
| | The Room Two | older | $4.99 | 21,056 97% | 632k | $3.2M (exactly $3,152,083) | Fireproof Games |
| | Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma | older | $19.99 | 4,669 81% | 140k | $2.8M (exactly $2,799,999) | Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. |
| | We Were Here Too | older | $9.99 | 9,005 78% | 270k | $2.7M (exactly $2,698,798) | Total Mayhem Games |
| | The Past Within | older | $5.99 | 14,673 94% | 440k | $2.6M (exactly $2,636,738) | Rusty Lake |
| | Granny | older | $7.99 | 10,940 94% | 328k | $2.6M (exactly $2,622,318) | DVloper |
| | The Room Three | older | $5.99 | 12,997 95% | 390k | $2.3M (exactly $2,335,561) | Fireproof Games |
| | Servant of the Lake | $7.99 | 7,120 98% | 214k | $1.7M (exactly $1,706,664) | Rusty Lake | |
| | Dreamcore | $17.99 | 1,879 89% | 56k | $1.0M (exactly $1,014,096) | Montraluz | |
| | AI2U: With You 'Til The End | $14.99 | 2,073 87% | 62k | $932k (exactly $932,228) | AlterStaff Inc. | |
| | Emissary Zero | $8.99 | 2,683 83% | 80k | $724k (exactly $723,605) | Rone Vine | |
| | Is this Game Trying to Kill Me? | $14.99 | 1,513 95% | 45k | $680k (exactly $680,396) | Stately Snail | |
| | Scarlet Idol | $7.99 | 2,586 66% | 78k | $620k (exactly $619,864) | 山雨工作室 | |
| | Post Trauma | $14.99 | 574 72% | 17k | $258k (exactly $258,128) | RED SOUL GAMES | |
| | Titanic Escape Simulator™ | $19.99 | 374 52% | 11k | $224k (exactly $224,288) | magicprostudio, Vintage Digital Revival | |
| | Amanda the Adventurer 3 | $9.99 | 699 86% | 21k | $209k (exactly $209,490) | MANGLEDmaw Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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