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Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Mystery Dungeon?
Mystery Dungeon + Psychological Horror
Of 75 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror 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.. 88 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. 88 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper, while revenue is up 115% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $90 (exactly $90) |
|---|---|
| Median | $300 (exactly $300) |
| Top 25% | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
| Top 5% | $33k (exactly $32,733) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 75 |
| Released games | 175 |
| Announced | 88 |
| 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 up 115% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
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 Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Mystery Dungeon; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Survival Horror
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Realistic, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 1,216 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $90. Nearly all of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 88 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Mystery Dungeon with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + JRPGStrong odds
- + TacticalStrong odds
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + RomanceFair
- + Perma DeathFair
- + Tactical RPGFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + HistoricalFair
- + PhysicsFair
Comparable games
The Classrooms 2022 · EA · $1.2M 
The Backrooms: Survival 2023 · $264k 
The Coma 2B: Catacomb 2024 · $263k 
The Light Remake 2020 · $219k 
Unmourned 2025 · $193k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Classrooms | · EA older | $12.99 | 3,040 89% | 91k | $1.2M (exactly $1,184,688) | Xefier Games, Hillcrest Games Inc. |
| | The Backrooms: Survival | older | $9.99 | 881 82% | 26k | $264k (exactly $264,036) | RE:CODE |
| | The Coma 2B: Catacomb | $14.99 | 584 75% | 18k | $263k (exactly $262,625) | Dvora Studio Co., Ltd. | |
| | The Light Remake | older | $4.99 | 1,462 87% | 44k | $219k (exactly $218,861) | Носков Сергей |
| | 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 |
 | Savior of the Abyss | older | $6.99 | 236 77% | 7.1k | $49k (exactly $49,489) | ALLAF GAMES |
 | Stifled - Echolocation Horror Mystery | older | $19.99 | 78 70% | 2.3k | $47k (exactly $46,777) | Gattai Games |
 | Liminal Shroud | $12.99 | 91 89% | 2.7k | $35k (exactly $35,463) | Everdeep Studios | |
 | SAVE | · EA | $11.99 | 91 48% | 2.7k | $33k (exactly $32,733) | Influsion Inc. |
 | ACCIDENTALLY | $12.99 | 30 60% | 900 | $12k (exactly $11,691) | M&K WORKS | |
 | Confronted | · EA | $7.99 | 31 100% | 930 | $7.4k (exactly $7,431) | Grumpy Rock Studios |
 | They See Us | $3.99 | 60 85% | 1.8k | $7.2k (exactly $7,182) | MalumGames | |
 | Vastophobia | · EA | $7.99 | 27 92% | 810 | $6.5k (exactly $6,472) | Beyond reason Games |
 | Cursed Halls | $6.99 | 26 92% | 780 | $5.5k (exactly $5,452) | Souls Alive Development | |
 | La Llorona Wants Your Soul | $9.99 | 18 50% | 540 | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) | Focka Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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