Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Life Sim?
Life Sim + Psychological Horror
Of 106 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Life Sim 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.. 129 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.2k, ×6.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×2140 the market median. Revenue is up 125% on the market; 129 games are announced against 55 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.2k (exactly $3,235) |
| Top 25% | $31k (exactly $30,569) |
| Top 5% | $1.0M (exactly $1,016,593) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 106 |
| Released games | 247 |
| Announced | 129 |
| 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 up 125% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Life Sim
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Psychological Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Immersive Sim, Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 157,970 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 78 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 129 games are announced against 55 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + FaithFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + ZombiesFair
Comparable games
MiSide 2024 · $55M 
My Winter Car 2025 · EA · $8.4M 
Chinese Parents 2018 · $6.9M 
Wanderstop 2025 · $2.2M 
ANEURISM IV 2025 · $1.7M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | MiSide | $14.99 | 122,007 97% | 3.7M | $55M (exactly $54,866,548) | AIHASTO | |
| | My Winter Car | · EA | $14.99 | 18,614 94% | 558k | $8.4M (exactly $8,370,716) | Amistech Games |
| | Chinese Parents | older | $9.99 | 23,168 91% | 695k | $6.9M (exactly $6,943,450) | 墨鱼玩游戏 |
| | Wanderstop | $24.99 | 2,938 92% | 88k | $2.2M (exactly $2,202,619) | Ivy Road | |
| | ANEURISM IV | $9.99 | 5,686 75% | 171k | $1.7M (exactly $1,704,094) | Vellocet | |
 | Office Life | $19.99 | 1,725 88% | 52k | $1.0M (exactly $1,034,482) | LeiYun Games | |
 | The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian | $24.99 | 1,356 74% | 41k | $1.0M (exactly $1,016,593) | Schisma Games | |
 | CUSTOM MECH WARS | older | $49.99 | 563 41% | 17k | $844k (exactly $844,331) | D3PUBLISHER |
 | Fetish Locator Week One | older | $9.99 | 2,418 84% | 73k | $725k (exactly $724,675) | ViNovella Games |
 | HELLMART | $14.99 | 1,034 77% | 31k | $465k (exactly $464,990) | GAZE IN GAMES | |
 | Static Dread: The Lighthouse | $10.90 | 1,394 90% | 42k | $456k (exactly $455,838) | solarsuit.games | |
 | and Roger | $4.99 | 2,703 95% | 81k | $405k (exactly $404,639) | TearyHand Studio | |
 | Subside | $24.99 | 513 96% | 15k | $385k (exactly $384,596) | A2D Software |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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