Do I ship it?

Games › Score Attack › Score Attack + Music

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Music Score Attack game?

Score Attack + Music

Of 53 developers who shipped a Music Score Attack 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.. 58 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $860k, ×1817 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 58 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 58 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Score Attack + Music
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 53
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $19k → $1.3k → $299 → $1.2k → $2.0k → $255k → $449 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Score Attack + Music: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 53
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $19,969)
Top 5% $863k (exactly $862,980)
Developers, 2 yr 53
Released games 152
Announced 58
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 60% on the market, supply 210% 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.

Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Music
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Score Attack; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Rhythm, Arcade, Action
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, 2D, Stylized
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 18,577 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $900, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $860k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + MechsFair23 devs · median $6.2k · 24 announced
  2. + Spectacle fighterFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  3. + DragonsFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  4. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $1.7k · 14 announced
  5. + CookingFair28 devs · median $1.4k · 30 announced
  6. + SuperheroFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 5 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair112 devs · median $1.2k · 104 announced
  8. + GolfFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  9. + GothicFair20 devs · median $959 · 14 announced
  10. + ModernFair53 devs · median $899 · 43 announced
  11. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair14 devs · median $898 · 11 announced
  12. + UndergroundFair23 devs · median $748 · 18 announced

All 200 pairs on the Score Attack page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ 2022 · $23M Metal: Hellsinger 2022 · $13M Tetris® Effect: Connected 2021 · $10M Dead as Disco 2026 · EA · $9.3M Melatonin 2022 · $3.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ older $39.39 19,507 94% 585k $23M (exactly $23,051,422) SEGA
Metal: Hellsinger older $29.99 13,989 96% 420k $13M (exactly $12,585,903) The Outsiders
Tetris® Effect: Connected older $39.99 8,429 94% 253k $10M (exactly $10,112,271) Monstars Inc., Resonair, Stage Games
Dead as Disco · EA $24.99 12,354 96% 371k $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) Brain Jar Games, Inc.
Melatonin older $14.99 7,554 94% 227k $3.4M (exactly $3,397,034) Half Asleep
AudioSurf older $9.99 8,901 95% 267k $2.7M (exactly $2,667,630) Dylan Fitterer
Super Hexagon older $2.99 18,371 97% 551k $1.6M (exactly $1,647,879) Terry Cavanagh
Lumines Arise $39.99 848 94% 25k $1.0M (exactly $1,017,346) Enhance, Monstars Inc.
Bits & Bops $15.99 1,799 91% 54k $863k (exactly $862,980) Tempo Lab Games
Electronic Super Joy older $7.99 2,471 89% 74k $592k (exactly $592,299) Michael Todd Games
Beatblock · EA $14.99 1,237 97% 37k $556k (exactly $556,279) BubbleTabby
MOMO Crash $12.00 707 89% 21k $255k (exactly $254,520) SKOOTA GAMES
MUSYNX:RETURN $19.99 284 74% 8.5k $170k (exactly $170,315) I-Inferno
BAZOOKA: Rhythm Game $7.99 664 98% 20k $159k (exactly $159,161) Gregory Seguru, Codrin Bradea
Mimic Party $6.99 430 46% 13k $90k (exactly $90,171) FoliesAPP
DrumBeats VR $14.99 128 65% 3.8k $58k (exactly $57,562) Marcel Eissens, VRROOM Ultimate VR Expe… (Marcel Eissens, VRROOM Ultimate VR Experiences BV)
Asterika: Phantom Rose Refrain $14.99 126 95% 3.8k $57k (exactly $56,662) makaroll

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