Do I ship it?

Games › Mystery Dungeon › Mystery Dungeon + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Mystery Dungeon?

Mystery Dungeon + Psychological

Of 23 developers who shipped a Psychological Mystery Dungeon 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.. 26 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $7.4k, ×16 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 26 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 26 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Mystery Dungeon + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.9k → $628 → $5.4k → $987 → $1.6k → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Mystery Dungeon + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Top 5% $7.4k (exactly $7,431)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 59
Announced 26
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.99

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 50% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Mystery Dungeon
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Mystery Dungeon; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Dark, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 352 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $450, 1 in 4 over $1.6k, 1 in 20 over $7.4k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + JRPGStrong odds43 devs · median $21k · 23 announced
  2. + TacticalStrong odds20 devs · median $2.5k · 15 announced
  3. + Auto BattlerFair17 devs · median $13k · 16 announced
  4. + RomanceFair12 devs · median $5.8k · 10 announced
  5. + Perma DeathFair27 devs · median $2.7k · 29 announced
  6. + Tactical RPGFair30 devs · median $2.4k · 24 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair34 devs · median $1.6k · 35 announced
  8. + SimulationFair57 devs · median $1.3k · 67 announced
  9. + Bullet HellFair14 devs · median $1.0k · 18 announced
  10. + Time ManagementFair11 devs · median $898 · 8 announced
  11. + HistoricalFair7 devs · median $719 · 10 announced
  12. + PhysicsFair22 devs · median $539 · 20 announced

All 116 pairs on the Mystery Dungeon page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Backrooms: Survival 2023 · $264k Unmourned 2025 · $193k Transliminal: Beyond The Backrooms 2022 · EA · $57k Stifled - Echolocation Horror Mystery 2018 · $47k Jung's Labyrinth 2020 · $29k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Backrooms: Survival older $9.99 881 82% 26k $264k (exactly $264,036) RE:CODE
Unmourned $24.99 258 79% 7.7k $193k (exactly $193,423) Codebros Studio
Transliminal: Beyond The Backrooms · EA older $12.49 153 90% 4.6k $57k (exactly $57,329) Corey Jeffries
Stifled - Echolocation Horror Mystery older $19.99 78 70% 2.3k $47k (exactly $46,777) Gattai Games
Jung's Labyrinth older $14.99 65 70% 2.0k $29k (exactly $29,230) Jan Jileček
UnderDread older $4.99 89 47% 2.7k $13k (exactly $13,323) Bigzur Games
The Vampire older $5.99 49 75% 1.5k $8.8k (exactly $8,805) SJ Games
There Won't be Light · EA older $4.99 50 56% 1.5k $7.5k (exactly $7,485) BarCoffee Studio
Confronted · EA $7.99 31 100% 930 $7.4k (exactly $7,431) Grumpy Rock Studios
Traumada older $3.99 50 92% 1.5k $6.0k (exactly $5,985) James Horn
Dungeon & Poker $6.99 13 92% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) Vansonstudio
Crimson Mansion $11.99 6 50% 180 $2.2k (exactly $2,158) Bence Pachinger-Molnár
Demon Street $9.99 6 66% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) Manycats Games
工廈 Warehouse $4.99 11 45% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) Echo Studio
The Fellowship of Infinity $10.99 4 100% 120 $1.3k (exactly $1,319) Nicholas Bochenek
Dark Mine $2.99 11 81% 330 $987 (exactly $987) Cyber752
Locked In $5.99 5 40% 150 $898 (exactly $898) Gerch Interactive
KUZGUN $2.99 7 100% 210 $628 (exactly $628) DAM Games

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