Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Perma Death game?
Perma Death + Horror
Of 181 developers who shipped a Horror Perma Death game 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.. 281 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $370k, ×785 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 281 games are announced against 111 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $297 (exactly $297) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $8.0k (exactly $8,020) |
| Top 5% | $373k (exactly $372,734) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 181 |
| Released games | 428 |
| Announced | 281 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.00 |
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 60% on the market, supply 55% more 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.
- Perma Death
- 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
- Perma Death; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.00 typical · top 25% priced $12.49 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.49 or above; the middle game at $5.00.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 391,008 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 83 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 281 games are announced against 111 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Perma Death with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Strong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + PiratesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
Comparable games
Hunt: Showdown 1896 2019 · $192M 
Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M 
Darkest Dungeon® 2016 · $106M 
R.E.P.O. 2025 · EA · $102M 
State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition 2020 · $53M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hunt: Showdown 1896 | older | $29.99 | 213,023 74% | 6.4M | $192M (exactly $191,656,793) | Crytek |
| | Lethal Company | · EA older | $9.99 | 411,550 97% | 12M | $123M (exactly $123,341,535) | Zeekerss |
| | Darkest Dungeon® | older | $24.99 | 140,790 91% | 4.2M | $106M (exactly $105,550,263) | Red Hook Studios |
| | R.E.P.O. | · EA | $9.99 | 341,004 96% | 10M | $102M (exactly $102,198,899) | semiwork |
| | State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition | older | $29.99 | 59,156 83% | 1.8M | $53M (exactly $53,222,653) | Undead Labs |
 | Don't Starve | older | $9.99 | 97,007 96% | 2.9M | $29M (exactly $29,072,998) | Klei Entertainment |
 | The Quarry | older | $59.99 | 16,127 83% | 484k | $29M (exactly $29,023,762) | Supermassive Games |
 | White Knuckle | · EA | $16.99 | 13,356 98% | 401k | $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) | Dark Machine Games |
 | Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days | · EA | $24.99 | 9,049 89% | 271k | $6.8M (exactly $6,784,035) | PikPok |
 | Until Dawn™ | $59.99 | 3,564 82% | 107k | $6.4M (exactly $6,414,131) | Ballistic Moon | |
 | Nuclear Nightmare | · EA | $6.99 | 15,403 81% | 462k | $3.2M (exactly $3,230,009) | BG Productions |
 | Hell Clock | $19.99 | 3,535 82% | 106k | $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) | Rogue Snail | |
 | CRUEL | $9.99 | 1,814 95% | 54k | $544k (exactly $543,656) | James Dornan | |
 | ODDCORE | · EA | $12.99 | 1,080 96% | 32k | $421k (exactly $420,876) | ODDCORP |
 | Welcome to the Game III | $19.99 | 648 78% | 19k | $389k (exactly $388,606) | Reflect Studios | |
 | Paranoia Place: Escape Together | $7.99 | 1,555 87% | 47k | $373k (exactly $372,734) | Bloody Pixel Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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