Games › Rhythm › Rhythm + Music
Should I ship a Music Rhythm game?
Rhythm + Music
Of 172 developers who shipped a Music Rhythm 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.. 240 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×5.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2786 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 240 games are announced against 112 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) |
| Top 25% | $49k (exactly $49,188) |
| Top 5% | $1.3M (exactly $1,323,538) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 172 |
| Released games | 656 |
| Announced | 240 |
| 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 down 25% on the market, supply 70% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Rhythm; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 76,718 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 78 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 240 games are announced against 112 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Rhythm with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Choose Your Own AdventureStrong odds
- + Third-Person ShooterStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + ModernFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + ManagementFair
- + Beat 'em upFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Combat RacingFair
Comparable games
Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M 
DJMAX RESPECT V 2020 · $45M 
Beat Saber 2019 · $42M 
Hi-Fi RUSH 2023 · $25M 
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ 2022 · $23M | 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 |
| | DJMAX RESPECT V | older | $49.99 | 29,808 88% | 894k | $45M (exactly $44,703,058) | NEOWIZ |
| | Beat Saber | older | $19.99 | 69,750 95% | 2.1M | $42M (exactly $41,829,075) | Beat Games |
| | Hi-Fi RUSH | older | $29.99 | 27,454 97% | 824k | $25M (exactly $24,700,364) | Tango Gameworks |
| | Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ | older | $39.39 | 19,507 94% | 585k | $23M (exactly $23,051,422) | SEGA |
 | Rhythm Doctor | $19.99 | 25,021 98% | 751k | $15M (exactly $15,005,094) | 7th Beat Games | |
 | Just Shapes & Beats | older | $19.99 | 24,041 97% | 721k | $14M (exactly $14,417,388) | Berzerk Studio |
 | A Dance of Fire and Ice | older | $5.99 | 78,688 94% | 2.4M | $14M (exactly $14,140,234) | 7th Beat Games |
 | Metal: Hellsinger | older | $29.99 | 13,989 96% | 420k | $13M (exactly $12,585,903) | The Outsiders |
 | Crypt of the NecroDancer | older | $14.99 | 23,593 95% | 708k | $11M (exactly $10,609,772) | Brace Yourself Games |
 | Dead as Disco | · EA | $24.99 | 12,354 96% | 371k | $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) | Brain Jar Games, Inc. |
 | UNBEATABLE | $27.99 | 6,552 92% | 197k | $5.5M (exactly $5,501,714) | D-CELL GAMES | |
 | Rocksmith® 2014 Edition REMASTERED LEARN & PLAY | $9.99 | 15,615 85% | 468k | $4.7M (exactly $4,679,816) | Ubisoft - San Francisco, Ubisoft - Osaka | |
 | Rift of the NecroDancer | $19.99 | 5,844 93% | 175k | $3.5M (exactly $3,504,647) | Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios I… (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios Inc.) | |
 | Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis | $16.99 | 3,974 91% | 119k | $2.0M (exactly $2,025,548) | Alliance Arts, WHO YOU | |
 | Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival | $49.99 | 1,277 83% | 38k | $1.9M (exactly $1,915,117) | Bandai Namco Amusement Lab Inc. | |
 | Ratatan | · EA | $24.99 | 2,449 85% | 73k | $1.8M (exactly $1,836,015) | TVT Co. Ltd., Ratata Arts |
 | Everhood 2 | $19.99 | 2,207 74% | 66k | $1.3M (exactly $1,323,538) | Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca | |
 | Sixtar Gate: STARTRAIL | $24.99 | 1,425 86% | 43k | $1.1M (exactly $1,068,322) | Starlike Inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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