Games › Exploration › Exploration + Thriller
Should I ship a Thriller Exploration game?
Exploration + Thriller
Of 719 developers who shipped a Thriller Exploration 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.. 1,107 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×4.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×374 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 1,107 games are announced against 417 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $538 (exactly $538) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) |
| Top 25% | $9.8k (exactly $9,777) |
| Top 5% | $178k (exactly $177,722) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 719 |
| Released games | 1,611 |
| Announced | 1,107 |
| 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 10% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Exploration
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Thriller
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Exploration; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Walking Simulator, Puzzle
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 86,684 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 395 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,107 games are announced against 417 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Exploration with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + SpaceshipsFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + Real-Time with PausePoor odds
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Martial ArtsPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + FMVPoor odds
- + FarmingPoor odds
Comparable games
Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach 2021 · $78M 
Firewatch 2016 · $56M 
A Plague Tale: Requiem 2022 · $31M 
Superliminal 2020 · $17M 
Mouthwashing 2024 · $13M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach | older | $39.99 | 65,350 86% | 2.0M | $78M (exactly $78,400,395) | Steel Wool Studios |
| | Firewatch | older | $19.99 | 93,690 90% | 2.8M | $56M (exactly $56,185,893) | Campo Santo |
| | A Plague Tale: Requiem | older | $49.99 | 20,797 90% | 624k | $31M (exactly $31,189,261) | Asobo Studio |
| | Superliminal | older | $19.99 | 28,428 94% | 853k | $17M (exactly $17,048,272) | Pillow Castle |
| | Mouthwashing | $12.99 | 34,353 95% | 1.0M | $13M (exactly $13,387,364) | Wrong Organ | |
 | Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic | $39.99 | 10,874 86% | 326k | $13M (exactly $13,045,538) | Steel Wool Studios | |
 | Still Wakes the Deep | older | $34.99 | 11,213 87% | 336k | $12M (exactly $11,770,286) | The Chinese Room |
 | The Invincible | older | $29.99 | 10,055 87% | 302k | $9.0M (exactly $9,046,484) | Starward Industries |
 | The Killing Antidote | · EA | $29.99 | 7,512 88% | 225k | $6.8M (exactly $6,758,546) | MetalStar Studio |
 | Unheard - Voices of Crime | older | $6.99 | 30,978 95% | 929k | $6.5M (exactly $6,496,087) | NEXT Studios |
 | ROUTINE | $24.99 | 7,322 91% | 220k | $5.5M (exactly $5,489,303) | Lunar Software | |
 | Homicipher | $13.99 | 7,821 96% | 235k | $3.3M (exactly $3,282,474) | 八名木Games | |
 | Fears to Fathom® - Scratch Creek | $7.99 | 7,141 75% | 214k | $1.7M (exactly $1,711,698) | Rayll | |
 | Zoochosis | $24.99 | 2,200 60% | 66k | $1.6M (exactly $1,649,340) | Clapperheads | |
 | Eclipsium | $12.99 | 3,306 91% | 99k | $1.3M (exactly $1,288,348) | Housefire | |
 | The Complex: Expedition | $14.99 | 2,620 89% | 79k | $1.2M (exactly $1,178,214) | pgWave | |
 | Subliminal | $9.99 | 3,535 74% | 106k | $1.1M (exactly $1,059,440) | Accidental Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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