Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Metroidvania?
Metroidvania + Psychological Horror
Only 19 developers shipped a Psychological-Horror Metroidvania 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, JUMP KING QUEST, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 64 more are announced, ×6.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $12k, ×24 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $540k, ×1138 the market median. Revenue is up 330% on the market; 64 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.1k (exactly $3,116) |
|---|---|
| Median | $12k (exactly $11,501) |
| Top 25% | $86k (exactly $86,357) |
| Top 5% | $541k (exactly $540,539) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 19 |
| Released games | 60 |
| Announced | 64 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 330% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Metroidvania
- 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
- Metroidvania; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Surreal, Difficult, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 3,723 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.2k. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Metroidvania with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ParkourPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + SimulationPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + CollectathonPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
- + VampiresPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
Comparable games
CONTROL Ultimate Edition 2020 · $61M 
The Swapper 2013 · $2.3M 
Vigil: The Longest Night 2020 · $2.2M 
Chicory: A Colorful Tale 2021 · $2.0M 
LOST EPIC 2022 · $569k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | CONTROL Ultimate Edition | older | $39.99 | 50,602 86% | 1.5M | $61M (exactly $60,707,219) | Remedy Entertainment |
| | The Swapper | older | $14.99 | 5,065 93% | 152k | $2.3M (exactly $2,277,730) | Olli Harjola, Otto Hantula, Tom Jubert,… (Olli Harjola, Otto Hantula, Tom Jubert, Carlo Castellano) |
| | Vigil: The Longest Night | older | $21.99 | 3,333 85% | 100k | $2.2M (exactly $2,198,780) | Glass Heart Games |
| | Chicory: A Colorful Tale | older | $19.99 | 3,407 97% | 102k | $2.0M (exactly $2,043,178) | Wishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, Alexis Dean… (Wishes Ultd., Greg Lobanov, Alexis Dean-Jones, Lena Raine, Madeline Berger, A Shell in the Pit) |
| | LOST EPIC | older | $17.99 | 1,055 71% | 32k | $569k (exactly $569,384) | One or Eight, Team EARTHWARS |
 | JUMP KING QUEST | $14.99 | 1,202 88% | 36k | $541k (exactly $540,539) | Nexile | |
 | Neversong | older | $14.99 | 785 85% | 24k | $353k (exactly $353,014) | Atmos Games, Serenity Forge |
 | Metro Gravity | $12.99 | 852 92% | 26k | $332k (exactly $332,024) | mrkogamedev | |
 | Tower and Sword of Succubus | older | $12.99 | 818 85% | 25k | $319k (exactly $318,775) | Libra Heart |
 | Future Fragments | older | $19.99 | 450 74% | 14k | $270k (exactly $269,865) | The Future Fragments Team |
 | FISH | · EA | $9.99 | 583 94% | 17k | $175k (exactly $174,725) | dmcaguy |
 | Lingo 2 | $9.99 | 443 93% | 13k | $133k (exactly $132,767) | Brenton Wildes | |
 | Voltage High Society | $19.99 | 144 92% | 4.3k | $86k (exactly $86,357) | Platonic Partnership | |
 | Babushka's Glitch Dungeon | $5.99 | 259 98% | 7.8k | $47k (exactly $46,542) | pets club 2 | |
 | The Island of Doctor Morose | $9.99 | 93 95% | 2.8k | $28k (exactly $27,872) | Square Butterfly Interactive | |
 | SENARA: The Sacrament | $17.99 | 51 74% | 1.5k | $28k (exactly $27,525) | Influsion Inc. | |
 | Creatures Of War | $14.99 | 32 75% | 960 | $14k (exactly $14,390) | Chaos Entertainment | |
 | HOMESICKNESS | $5.99 | 64 92% | 1.9k | $12k (exactly $11,501) | jnity, celesware |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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