Do I ship it?

Games › FPS › FPS + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological FPS?

FPS + Psychological

Of 112 developers who shipped a Psychological FPS 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.. 164 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×1.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×116 the market median. Revenue is up 110% on the market; 164 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 110% on the market, 164 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
FPS + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 112
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.4k → $1.3k → $3.6k → $1.6k → $1.1k → $2.1k → $3.1k (still earning) → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for FPS + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 112
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,851)
Top 25% $8.7k (exactly $8,691)
Top 5% $173k (exactly $173,134)
Developers, 2 yr 112
Released games 229
Announced 164
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 110% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

FPS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
FPS; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 61% positive over 9,514 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 50 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 164 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + LGBTQ+Fair28 devs · median $32k · 22 announced
  2. + Dating SimFair47 devs · median $19k · 36 announced
  3. + IdlerFair22 devs · median $4.2k · 23 announced
  4. + GamblingFair24 devs · median $4.1k · 22 announced
  5. + FaithFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 12 announced
  6. + Precision PlatformerFair37 devs · median $1.6k · 38 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $1.4k · 12 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair172 devs · median $1.2k · 190 announced
  9. + RunnerLong shot39 devs · median $958 · 43 announced
  10. + Action RTSLong shot16 devs · median $899 · 21 announced
  11. + Bullet HellLong shot130 devs · median $629 · 145 announced
  12. + DogsLong shot6 devs · median $594 · 7 announced

All 216 pairs on the FPS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BONELAB 2022 · $22M Buckshot Roulette 2024 · $9.9M Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 2025 · $9.1M Lost in Vivo 2018 · $1.3M Total Chaos 2025 · $1.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BONELAB older $39.99 18,670 82% 560k $22M (exactly $22,398,399) Stress Level Zero
Buckshot Roulette older $2.99 110,042 95% 3.3M $9.9M (exactly $9,870,767) Mike Klubnika
Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 $69.99 4,344 37% 130k $9.1M (exactly $9,121,097) Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High… (Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Activision Shanghai, Demonware)
Lost in Vivo older $11.99 3,684 91% 111k $1.3M (exactly $1,325,135) KIRA
Total Chaos $24.99 1,561 86% 47k $1.2M (exactly $1,170,282) Trigger Happy Interactive
The Thing: Remastered $29.99 1,203 89% 36k $1.1M (exactly $1,082,339) Nightdive Studios, Computer Artworks
GET EVEN older $29.99 923 76% 28k $830k (exactly $830,423) The Farm 51
It Steals older $4.99 2,144 98% 64k $321k (exactly $320,957) Zeekerss
Supernatural older $8.99 1,180 63% 35k $318k (exactly $318,246) Hitori De Productions
Duck Season PC older $9.99 1,029 93% 31k $308k (exactly $308,391) Stress Level Zero
Of Lies and Rain $39.99 171 79% 5.1k $205k (exactly $205,149) Castello Inc
It Has My Face $9.99 608 88% 18k $182k (exactly $182,218) NightByte Games
A.A.U. Black Site · EA $14.99 385 80% 12k $173k (exactly $173,134) Raspberry Studio
Beneath $19.99 262 69% 7.9k $157k (exactly $157,121) Camel 101
CUFFBUST $9.99 508 52% 15k $152k (exactly $152,248) Two Star Games
Dementium: The Ward $14.99 277 87% 8.3k $125k (exactly $124,567) Atooi
Project Songbird $14.99 195 85% 5.9k $88k (exactly $87,692) FYRE Games, Conner Rush

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