Games › FMV › FMV + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror FMV?
FMV + Psychological Horror
Of 33 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror FMV 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.. 56 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.9k, ×21 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×712 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 56 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.9k (exactly $9,893) |
| Top 25% | $74k (exactly $73,814) |
| Top 5% | $338k (exactly $338,174) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 33 |
| Released games | 111 |
| Announced | 56 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- FMV
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Psychological Horror
- 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
- FMV; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Immersive Sim
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 6,659 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.0k. 4 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FMV with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SurvivalStrong odds
- + Post-apocalypticStrong odds
- + StrategyStrong odds
- + Multiple EndingsStrong odds
- + Immersive SimStrong odds
- + Choices MatterStrong odds
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + RomanceStrong odds
- + SimulationStrong odds
- + JRPGStrong odds
- + Visual NovelStrong odds
- + RPGStrong odds
Comparable games
Mirror 2: Project X 2022 · EA · $6.6M 
Her Story 2015 · $2.5M 
Breakout 13 2023 · $2.1M 
Succubus Cafe 2021 · $2.0M 
Stories Untold 2017 · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mirror 2: Project X | · EA older | $1.99 | 111,251 24% | 3.3M | $6.6M (exactly $6,641,685) | KAGAMI Ⅱ WORKs |
| | Her Story | older | $9.99 | 8,367 89% | 251k | $2.5M (exactly $2,507,590) | Sam Barlow |
| | Breakout 13 | older | $9.99 | 6,899 87% | 207k | $2.1M (exactly $2,067,630) | ALT Lab |
| | Succubus Cafe | older | $29.99 | 2,260 89% | 68k | $2.0M (exactly $2,033,322) | MIGI STUDIO |
| | Stories Untold | older | $9.99 | 4,357 86% | 131k | $1.3M (exactly $1,305,793) | Screen Burn |
 | Eclipsium | $12.99 | 3,306 91% | 99k | $1.3M (exactly $1,288,348) | Housefire | |
 | Home Safety Hotline | older | $14.99 | 2,763 90% | 83k | $1.2M (exactly $1,242,521) | Night Signal Entertainment |
 | STASIS: BONE TOTEM | older | $19.99 | 2,025 93% | 61k | $1.2M (exactly $1,214,392) | THE BROTHERHOOD |
 | Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight | older | $6.96 | 4,832 16% | 145k | $1.0M (exactly $1,008,922) | EA Los Angeles |
 | Smile For Me | older | $12.99 | 2,082 98% | 62k | $811k (exactly $811,355) | LimboLane |
 | Dead Take | $14.99 | 752 87% | 23k | $338k (exactly $338,174) | Surgent Studios | |
 | Summer’s Heartbeat | $19.99 | 336 92% | 10k | $201k (exactly $201,499) | Storytaco | |
 | SLEEP AWAKE | $29.99 | 164 71% | 4.9k | $148k (exactly $147,551) | EYES OUT, LLC. | |
 | The Salesman | $4.99 | 724 82% | 22k | $108k (exactly $108,383) | Backstab Industries | |
 | 规则怪谈：盛崖小区 | $10.99 | 288 71% | 8.6k | $95k (exactly $94,954) | ZHUYUAN Co.,Ltd | |
 | Lustful Dead 🔞 | $9.99 | 267 49% | 8.0k | $80k (exactly $80,020) | BanzaiProject | |
 | Heart of the Forest | $12.99 | 202 70% | 6.1k | $79k (exactly $78,719) | Trapped Predator | |
 | Survivor's Notes | $6.99 | 352 91% | 11k | $74k (exactly $73,814) | MYSTERY CROWN, YESPLAY | |
 | Hacked: The Streamer | $8.49 | 268 73% | 8.0k | $68k (exactly $68,260) | Button Interactive, NAISU |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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