Do I ship it?

Games › Intentionally Awkward Controls › Intentionally Awkward Controls + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Intentionally Awkward Controls game?

Intentionally Awkward Controls + Psychological Horror

Only 17 developers shipped a Psychological-Horror Intentionally Awkward Controls game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Get Tilted! :), made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 9 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $1.2k against a market of $480. 9 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 9 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Intentionally Awkward Controls + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $1.7k → $5.3k → $1.2k → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Intentionally Awkward Controls + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $5.3k (exactly $5,267)
Top 5% $20k (exactly $20,236)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 47
Announced 9
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 down 75% on the market, supply 80% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Intentionally Awkward Controls
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Intentionally Awkward Controls; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Parkour, Physics
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Difficult, Linear
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 86% positive over 497 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $5.2k, 1 in 20 over $20k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 9 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Intentionally Awkward Controls with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + PhysicsPoor odds25 devs · median $1.2k · 17 announced
  2. + 3D PlatformerPoor odds12 devs · median $718 · 4 announced
  3. + Precision PlatformerPoor odds18 devs · median $629 · 10 announced
  4. + ActionPoor odds22 devs · median $599 · 15 announced
  5. + PlatformerPoor odds20 devs · median $599 · 11 announced
  6. + SimulationDead12 devs · median $3.4k · 7 announced
  7. + AdventureDead16 devs · median $2.8k · 16 announced
  8. + ArcadeDead11 devs · median $599 · 4 announced
  9. + 2D PlatformerDead9 devs · median $599 · 6 announced

All 9 pairs on the Intentionally Awkward Controls page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Hand Simulator 2017 · $2.5M The Game of Sisyphus 2024 · $155k Simple Fish Adventure 2021 · $45k Ria's Hook 2018 · $32k Happenlance 2021 · $23k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hand Simulator older $2.99 28,415 84% 852k $2.5M (exactly $2,548,826) HFM Games
The Game of Sisyphus older $6.99 741 79% 22k $155k (exactly $155,388) cream
Simple Fish Adventure older $3.99 374 88% 11k $45k (exactly $44,768) LostVolBytes
Ria's Hook older $2.99 359 83% 11k $32k (exactly $32,202) Fossil
Happenlance older $19.99 39 92% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Miles Fogle, Phillip Trudeau-Tavara, Cy… (Miles Fogle, Phillip Trudeau-Tavara, Cyborg Primate)
Unicycle Pizza Time! older $4.99 145 78% 4.4k $22k (exactly $21,706) BiteMe Games
Get Tilted! :) $14.99 45 97% 1.4k $20k (exactly $20,236) Timebat Studio
Soviet Bear Uni Adventure older $9.99 65 69% 2.0k $19k (exactly $19,480) J
Otokomizu～漢水～ older $19.99 29 89% 870 $17k (exactly $17,391) BIG BOYS STUDIO
Ells Tales: Chairbound $1.99 269 81% 8.1k $16k (exactly $16,059) Ells&Pills
Handstand Hank $4.99 65 95% 2.0k $9.7k (exactly $9,730) Michael Fischer
I HATE MY LEGS $10.99 17 100% 510 $5.6k (exactly $5,605) Subhumans Studio
Undesired Catch $3.99 44 86% 1.3k $5.3k (exactly $5,267) Ferran Costa Casanova
Ropebound $4.99 19 94% 570 $2.8k (exactly $2,844) Bubbling Cat Games
Ropeman $5.99 14 100% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) 1K Project
Gunz & Golf $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Virtual Ducky Games
Getting Over It with Your Body $9.99 4 25% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) BombGame
a Difficult game about Wheelchair $2.99 8 62% 240 $718 (exactly $718) SATEKI GAMES

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