Do I ship it?

GamesIncrementalIncremental + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Incremental game?

Incremental + Psychological Horror

Of 105 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Incremental 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.. 122 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×3.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 122 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 170% on the market, 122 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Incremental + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 105
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $15k → $6.1k → $10k → $1.7k → $1.3k → $1.9k (still earning) → $1.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Incremental + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 105
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,676)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $16,189)
Top 5% $288k (exactly $288,012)
Developers, 2 yr 105
Released games 292
Announced 122
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 170% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Incremental
effort 1 / 10 · high · formulas and upgrade tables
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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Incremental; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Idler
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 28,079 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $280k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 54 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 67 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds15 devs · median $11k · 12 announced
  2. + OtomeStrong odds12 devs · median $7.0k · 11 announced
  3. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $6.1k · 15 announced
  4. + FarmingFair21 devs · median $5.9k · 23 announced
  5. + Dynamic NarrationFair19 devs · median $4.0k · 14 announced
  6. + MiningFair141 devs · median $3.9k · 207 announced
  7. + Souls-likeFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair15 devs · median $3.5k · 20 announced
  9. + Dating SimFair140 devs · median $3.1k · 136 announced
  10. + UndergroundFair27 devs · median $3.0k · 35 announced
  11. + LootFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  12. + SupernaturalFair33 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced

All 188 pairs on the Incremental page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Berry Bury Berry $7.99 8,619 98% 259k $2.1M (exactly $2,065,974) Get(Color) Games
Insaniquarium Deluxe older $4.99 6,398 96% 192k $958k (exactly $957,781) PopCap Games, Inc.
Horripilant $7.99 2,928 92% 88k $702k (exactly $701,842) Alexandre Declos , Pas Game Studio
Supermarket Chaos $4.99 3,266 92% 98k $489k (exactly $488,920) BunnyHop
Adorables older $29.99 502 80% 15k $452k (exactly $451,649) White Rabbit
That's not my Neighbor $2.99 4,498 88% 135k $403k (exactly $403,471) Nachosama Games
Q-UP $9.99 1,126 93% 34k $337k (exactly $337,462) Everybody House Games
Sixty Four older $5.99 1,604 73% 48k $288k (exactly $288,239) Oleg Danilov
Project P.I.T.T. $9.99 961 78% 29k $288k (exactly $288,012) Froke
Desktop Defender $4.99 1,757 92% 53k $263k (exactly $263,023) Conradical Games
Tingus Goose $6.99 1,224 89% 37k $257k (exactly $256,673) SweatyChair
Goblin Nest $6.99 1,177 93% 35k $247k (exactly $246,817) BadColor
Unfair Flips $1.99 2,523 88% 76k $151k (exactly $150,623) HEATHER FLOWERS

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