Do I ship it?

Games › Party Game › Party Game + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Party Game?

Party Game + Psychological Horror

Of 24 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Party 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.. 64 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×339 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 64 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 64 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Party Game + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Party Game + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 25% $5.7k (exactly $5,662)
Top 5% $161k (exactly $161,078)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 42
Announced 64
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 15% on the market, supply 600% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Party Game
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Psychological Horror
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Party Game; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Co-op, Online Co-Op, PvP
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, Dark, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 5,508 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 $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $5.6k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 64 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Party Game with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Board GameFair72 devs · median $899 · 98 announced
  2. + RhythmFair11 devs · median $802 · 19 announced
  3. + DeckbuildingFair22 devs · median $719 · 30 announced
  4. + Card BattlerFair28 devs · median $449 · 35 announced
  5. + MinigamesPoor odds28 devs · median $4.0k · 66 announced
  6. + RoguelitePoor odds22 devs · median $2.7k · 68 announced
  7. + RoguelikePoor odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 51 announced
  8. + Vehicular CombatPoor odds14 devs · median $2.4k · 45 announced
  9. + DestructionPoor odds13 devs · median $1.8k · 79 announced
  10. + DrivingPoor odds28 devs · median $1.7k · 60 announced
  11. + SurvivalPoor odds55 devs · median $1.3k · 135 announced
  12. + HorrorPoor odds61 devs · median $1.3k · 144 announced

All 95 pairs on the Party Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Jackbox Party Pack 8 2021 · $1.0M Machine Party 2026 · $1.0M Mount Your Friends 2014 · $768k Nidhogg 2 2017 · $462k The Jackbox Naughty Pack 2024 · $231k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Jackbox Party Pack 8 older $29.99 1,134 90% 34k $1.0M (exactly $1,020,260) Jackbox Games, Inc.
Machine Party $7.99 4,199 87% 126k $1.0M (exactly $1,006,500) Mike Klubnika, GDeavid
Mount Your Friends older $4.99 5,130 95% 154k $768k (exactly $767,961) Stegersaurus Software Inc.
Nidhogg 2 older $14.99 1,027 82% 31k $462k (exactly $461,842) Messhof
The Jackbox Naughty Pack older $19.99 385 33% 12k $231k (exactly $230,884) Jackbox Games, Inc.
WE ARE SO DEAD · EA $7.99 672 73% 20k $161k (exactly $161,078) REAL PLAYERS
Twisted Party $4.99 256 58% 7.7k $38k (exactly $38,323) Vampire Squid
Mimicry older $4.99 248 78% 7.4k $37k (exactly $37,126) Euphoria Games
Spider Roulette $4.99 143 91% 4.3k $21k (exactly $21,407) Kud
Push Me Pull You older $14.99 35 74% 1.1k $16k (exactly $15,740) House House
SCREAM NOTE $7.99 35 2% 1.1k $8.4k (exactly $8,390) REAL PLAYERS
DON`T PEEK $5.99 38 65% 1.1k $6.8k (exactly $6,829) SL Entertainment
Backrooms: No Escape · EA $6.99 27 44% 810 $5.7k (exactly $5,662) GameLabyrinth
Idiom Royale $1.99 91 63% 2.7k $5.4k (exactly $5,433) NyxWorks
GHOSTFLIPPERS $14.99 12 58% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) TheDevLeo
Lazy Climbers $4.99 35 68% 1.1k $5.2k (exactly $5,240) Cool Car Studio

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