Games › Mystery Dungeon › Mystery Dungeon + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Mystery Dungeon?
Mystery Dungeon + Horror
Of 125 developers who shipped a Horror Mystery Dungeon 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.. 127 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $420, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $32k, ×69 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 127 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $418 (exactly $418) |
| Top 25% | $2.6k (exactly $2,637) |
| Top 5% | $33k (exactly $32,733) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 125 |
| Released games | 314 |
| Announced | 127 |
| 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 down 20% on the market, supply 10% fewer 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.
- Mystery Dungeon
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Horror
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Mystery Dungeon; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 3,701 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. Nearly all of the 81 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 127 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Mystery Dungeon with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGStrong odds
- + TacticalStrong odds
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + RomanceFair
- + Perma DeathFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + HistoricalFair
- + PhysicsFair
Comparable games
The Classrooms 2022 · EA · $1.2M 
In Verbis Virtus 2015 · $878k 
The Backrooms: Survival 2023 · $264k 
The Coma 2B: Catacomb 2024 · $263k 
The Light Remake 2020 · $219k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Classrooms | · EA older | $12.99 | 3,040 89% | 91k | $1.2M (exactly $1,184,688) | Xefier Games, Hillcrest Games Inc. |
| | In Verbis Virtus | older | $19.99 | 1,464 78% | 44k | $878k (exactly $877,961) | Indomitus Games |
| | The Backrooms: Survival | older | $9.99 | 881 82% | 26k | $264k (exactly $264,036) | RE:CODE |
| | The Coma 2B: Catacomb | $14.99 | 584 75% | 18k | $263k (exactly $262,625) | Dvora Studio Co., Ltd. | |
| | The Light Remake | older | $4.99 | 1,462 87% | 44k | $219k (exactly $218,861) | Носков Сергей |
 | House of Necrosis | $11.99 | 581 94% | 17k | $209k (exactly $208,986) | Warkus | |
 | Unmourned | $24.99 | 258 79% | 7.7k | $193k (exactly $193,423) | Codebros Studio | |
 | PIT OF GOBLIN | · EA | $5.99 | 915 84% | 27k | $164k (exactly $164,426) | Friendly Foe |
 | Monsters Domain | older | $19.99 | 272 34% | 8.2k | $163k (exactly $163,118) | G-DEVS.com |
 | Dracula: Love Kills | older | $9.99 | 298 80% | 8.9k | $89k (exactly $89,311) | Waterlily Games |
 | Chained in the Backrooms | · EA | $2.99 | 933 68% | 28k | $84k (exactly $83,690) | Task+ Studios |
 | Liminal Shroud | $12.99 | 91 89% | 2.7k | $35k (exactly $35,463) | Everdeep Studios | |
 | SAVE | · EA | $11.99 | 91 48% | 2.7k | $33k (exactly $32,733) | Influsion Inc. |
 | The Fortress | $6.99 | 151 68% | 4.5k | $32k (exactly $31,665) | Baryonyx Games | |
 | SHINONOME ABYSS The Maiden Exorcist | $14.99 | 56 78% | 1.7k | $25k (exactly $25,183) | WODAN,Inc. | |
 | Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire | $19.99 | 41 70% | 1.2k | $25k (exactly $24,588) | Schell Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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