Should I ship a Thriller FMV?
FMV + Thriller
Of 29 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 38 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $16k, ×35 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.8k. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 38 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.8k (exactly $1,797) |
|---|---|
| Median | $16k (exactly $16,484) |
| Top 25% | $95k (exactly $94,954) |
| Top 5% | $1.3M (exactly $1,288,348) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 79 |
| Announced | 38 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.49 |
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 55% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 4%, 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
- FMV; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Immersive Sim, RPG
- Price point
- $8.49 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Story Rich, Cinematic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.49.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 12,821 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.8k. 5 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
The Operator 2024 · $3.6M 
Late Shift 2017 · $3.5M 
The Complex 2020 · $1.5M 
Five Hearts Under One Roof season2 2025 · $1.5M 
Stories Untold 2017 · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Operator | older | $13.99 | 8,515 91% | 255k | $3.6M (exactly $3,573,746) | Bureau 81 |
| | Late Shift | older | $14.99 | 7,762 86% | 233k | $3.5M (exactly $3,490,571) | CtrlMovie |
| | The Complex | older | $14.99 | 3,310 78% | 99k | $1.5M (exactly $1,488,507) | Wales Interactive, Good Gate Media, Lit… (Wales Interactive, Good Gate Media, Little Jade Productions) |
| | Five Hearts Under One Roof season2 | $22.99 | 2,149 96% | 64k | $1.5M (exactly $1,482,165) | Storytaco | |
| | 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 | |
 | SubZero | $9.99 | 2,719 92% | 82k | $815k (exactly $814,884) | Joy Media Limited | |
 | Telling Lies | older | $19.99 | 1,250 62% | 38k | $750k (exactly $749,625) | Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid, Furious Bee L… (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid, Furious Bee Limited) |
 | The Bunker | older | $14.99 | 1,644 69% | 49k | $739k (exactly $739,307) | Splendy Interactive, Wales Interactive |
 | She Sees Red - Interactive Movie | older | $7.99 | 2,739 77% | 82k | $657k (exactly $656,538) | Rhinotales |
 | Blood Money: Lethal Eden | $8.99 | 1,262 91% | 38k | $340k (exactly $340,361) | 碧火互娱 | |
 | Dead Take | $14.99 | 752 87% | 23k | $338k (exactly $338,174) | Surgent Studios | |
 | Evil School | $7.99 | 1,058 92% | 32k | $254k (exactly $253,603) | CineGame Interactive | |
 | Killed by Love 99 Times | $12.99 | 533 95% | 16k | $208k (exactly $207,710) | CineGame Interactive | |
 | The Joker's Game | $11.99 | 486 82% | 15k | $175k (exactly $174,814) | All In Game Co., Limited | |
 | 规则怪谈：盛崖小区 | $10.99 | 288 71% | 8.6k | $95k (exactly $94,954) | ZHUYUAN Co.,Ltd | |
 | 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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