Do I ship it?

GamesManagementManagement + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller Management game?

Management + Thriller

Only 19 developers shipped a Thriller Management 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, Asbury Pines, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 42 more are announced, ×3.0 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 $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×346 the market median. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 42 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 65% on the market, 42 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Thriller
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.7k → $42k → $2.3k (still earning) → $5.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,338)
Top 25% $6.7k (exactly $6,746)
Top 5% $217k (exactly $217,453)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 32
Announced 42
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 65% on the market, supply 180% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Thriller
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Resource Management, Simulation, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 1,182 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $6.7k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Asbury Pines · EA $12.99 558 90% 17k $217k (exactly $217,453) Chaystar Unlimited LLC
The Unholy Priest $9.99 370 72% 11k $111k (exactly $110,889) Grejuva
Save Koch older $11.99 118 61% 3.5k $42k (exactly $42,445) Wooden Monkeys
LAN Party Adventures $14.99 93 89% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) LEAP Game Studios
The Kindeman Remedy older $4.99 270 67% 8.1k $40k (exactly $40,419) Troglobytes Games
[Bober Bros] Last Pill Bar $5.99 68 91% 2.0k $12k (exactly $12,220) BOBER BROS
Horny Asylum $14.99 15 33% 450 $6.7k (exactly $6,746) FleshForge Studio
AI is Home - Survival Thriller $7.99 23 60% 690 $5.5k (exactly $5,513) pressanykey
Late Hours $6.99 20 55% 600 $4.2k (exactly $4,194) Miguel Roman, Yasmany Roman
The Paddock $5.99 17 88% 510 $3.1k (exactly $3,055) Josh Devlin
Menhera Farm $6.99 12 83% 360 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Sugar Star, シュガースター
COALCOM: Power Station $12.99 6 100% 180 $2.3k (exactly $2,338) Pedro Matos

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