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Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Level Editor game?
Level Editor + Psychological Horror
Only 18 developers shipped a Psychological-Horror Level Editor 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, Backrooms Media, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 23 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×208 the market median. Revenue is up 175% on the market; 23 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.3k (exactly $2,307) |
| Top 25% | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) |
| Top 5% | $131k (exactly $130,876) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 18 |
| Released games | 44 |
| Announced | 23 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 175% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Level Editor
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Psychological Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Level Editor; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 2,235 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Level Editor with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + AutomationLong shot
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + TrainsPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M 
Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight 2010 · $1.0M 
I wanna be the Creator 2019 · $514k 
4D Golf 2024 · $465k 
Golf Around! 2020 · $247k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Geometry Dash | older | $4.99 | 595,606 93% | 18M | $89M (exactly $89,162,218) | RobTop Games |
| | Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight | older | $6.96 | 4,832 16% | 145k | $1.0M (exactly $1,008,922) | EA Los Angeles |
| | I wanna be the Creator | older | $5.99 | 2,860 94% | 86k | $514k (exactly $513,942) | Aikesi |
| | 4D Golf | older | $19.99 | 775 98% | 23k | $465k (exactly $464,767) | CodeParade |
| | Golf Around! | older | $9.99 | 823 94% | 25k | $247k (exactly $246,653) | Hough Studio |
 | Ultimate Arena | older | $7.99 | 811 83% | 24k | $194k (exactly $194,397) | Triverske |
 | D'LIRIUM | older | $4.99 | 987 96% | 30k | $148k (exactly $147,754) | B52 Development Team |
 | Backrooms Media | $7.99 | 546 39% | 16k | $131k (exactly $130,876) | NPK Games | |
 | Horse Magnifier: The Full Horse | $2.99 | 1,401 99% | 42k | $126k (exactly $125,670) | sketbordcat | |
 | Myths of Rules | older | $2.99 | 1,009 87% | 30k | $91k (exactly $90,507) | Sugarcane Games |
 | LIMSCAPE : THE LIMINAL SPACE EXPLORER | $9.99 | 163 87% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $48,851) | SMOOTHEA | |
 | UBERSLAUGHTER | $9.99 | 54 87% | 1.6k | $16k (exactly $16,184) | BillyBobCletus | |
 | Chickens Don't Fly | $9.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) | Bachware Games | |
 | INJECTION | $7.99 | 10 70% | 300 | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) | ButterCorp | |
 | Relapse | $7.99 | 10 90% | 300 | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) | Hexatunes | |
 | Try Not To Plummet | $6.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $2.3k (exactly $2,307) | Uncredited | |
 | AI Asylum | $6.99 | 11 36% | 330 | $2.3k (exactly $2,307) | River Dynamics | |
 | Walking In | $3.99 | 13 76% | 390 | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) | tuchi |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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