Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Lovecraftian
Should I ship a Lovecraftian Perma Death game?
Perma Death + Lovecraftian
Of 22 developers who shipped a Lovecraftian 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.. 35 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $88k, ×187 the market median. Revenue is up 1300% on the market; 35 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,248) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,028) |
| Top 5% | $89k (exactly $88,688) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 52 |
| Announced | 35 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 1300% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- Lovecraftian
- 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 RPG, Roguelite, Action Roguelike
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Isometric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 929 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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
Darkest Dungeon® 2016 · $106M 
Darkest Dungeon® II 2023 · $29M 
Abandon Ship 2019 · $863k 
Eldritch 2013 · $764k 
Loot River 2022 · $266k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Darkest Dungeon® | older | $24.99 | 140,790 91% | 4.2M | $106M (exactly $105,550,263) | Red Hook Studios |
| | Darkest Dungeon® II | older | $39.99 | 24,249 74% | 727k | $29M (exactly $29,091,525) | Red Hook Studios |
| | Abandon Ship | older | $24.99 | 1,151 71% | 35k | $863k (exactly $862,905) | Fireblade Software |
| | Eldritch | older | $14.99 | 1,698 88% | 51k | $764k (exactly $763,591) | Minor Key Games |
| | Loot River | older | $24.99 | 355 69% | 11k | $266k (exactly $266,144) | straka.studio |
 | Railroads & Catacombs | $19.99 | 358 73% | 11k | $215k (exactly $214,693) | MadRails | |
 | Gloom | older | $9.99 | 519 83% | 16k | $156k (exactly $155,544) | Hunchback Studio |
 | Peregrino | $16.99 | 174 65% | 5.2k | $89k (exactly $88,688) | Inverge Studios | |
 | Door in the Woods | older | $9.99 | 242 78% | 7.3k | $73k (exactly $72,527) | teedoubleuGAMES |
 | Pizza Deathlivery | $5.99 | 161 72% | 4.8k | $29k (exactly $28,932) | Kusa Games | |
 | Nullpoint Protocol | $14.99 | 62 61% | 1.9k | $28k (exactly $27,881) | Everbloom Games | |
 | Cthulhu's Reach: Devil Reef | $9.99 | 68 80% | 2.0k | $20k (exactly $20,380) | The Fine Arc | |
 | Roguecraft DX | $11.99 | 39 92% | 1.2k | $14k (exactly $14,028) | Badger Punch Games | |
 | Cosmic Call | $9.99 | 30 96% | 900 | $9.0k (exactly $8,991) | CosmicDev | |
 | Eldritch Climb: A Cursed Ascent | · EA | $12.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $4.7k (exactly $4,676) | Covert Wonders |
 | Engine Eternal | $9.99 | 15 93% | 450 | $4.5k (exactly $4,496) | Absolutely Cookage | |
 | SUBMERSIBLE | $8.99 | 10 80% | 300 | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) | CJB Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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