Do I ship it?

GamesFPSFPS + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror FPS?

FPS + Psychological Horror

Of 379 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror 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.. 552 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×1.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $280k, ×187 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 552 games are announced against 204 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 552 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
FPS + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 379
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.5k → $2.1k → $2.3k → $4.0k → $898 → $1.9k → $2.0k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for FPS + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 379
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 25% $8.7k (exactly $8,691)
Top 5% $281k (exactly $280,613)
Developers, 2 yr 379
Released games 1,065
Announced 552
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 80% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 Horror
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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Survival Horror
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
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 77% positive over 192,692 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. 9 in 10 of the 210 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 552 games are announced against 204 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ready or Not older $49.99 265,219 79% 8.0M $398M (exactly $397,748,934) VOID Interactive
Half-Life: Alyx older $59.99 93,001 98% 2.8M $167M (exactly $167,373,900) Valve
Resident Evil Village older $39.99 106,447 95% 3.2M $128M (exactly $127,704,466) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Metro Exodus older $29.99 117,453 90% 3.5M $106M (exactly $105,672,464) 4A Games
Escape from Tarkov $49.99 55,824 49% 1.7M $84M (exactly $83,719,253) Battlestate Games
Call of Duty®: WWII older $59.99 33,576 71% 1.0M $60M (exactly $60,426,727) Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software
Alien: Isolation older $39.99 48,591 92% 1.5M $58M (exactly $58,294,623) Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive (M… (Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
Metro 2033 Redux older $19.99 94,968 91% 2.8M $57M (exactly $56,952,310) 4A Games
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard older $19.99 87,806 95% 2.6M $53M (exactly $52,657,258) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
How to Fish $7.99 57,661 95% 1.7M $14M (exactly $13,821,342) Dazed Games
Species: Unknown · EA $9.99 9,437 94% 283k $2.8M (exactly $2,828,269) WanadevStudio
ANEURISM IV $9.99 5,686 75% 171k $1.7M (exactly $1,704,094) Vellocet
Zort · EA $4.00 11,738 90% 352k $1.4M (exactly $1,408,560) Londer Software
Labyrinth Of The Demon King $19.99 2,116 92% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,268,965) J. R. Hudepohl
Total Chaos $24.99 1,561 86% 47k $1.2M (exactly $1,170,282) Trigger Happy Interactive
Hail to the Rainbow $14.99 2,533 90% 76k $1.1M (exactly $1,139,090) Носков Сергей
Folklore Hunter $17.99 1,217 75% 37k $657k (exactly $656,815) Liquid Donkey Games

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