Do I ship it?

Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Perma Death Score Attack game?

Perma Death + Score Attack

Of 102 developers who shipped a Perma Death 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.. 106 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 69 developers shipped in the last year and 106 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 106 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Perma Death + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 102
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $3.0k → $2.9k → $239 → $449 → $449 → $150 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Perma Death + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 102
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 5% $31k (exactly $30,838)
Developers, 2 yr 102
Released games 256
Announced 106
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 10% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Perma Death
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Score Attack
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
Perma Death, Score Attack; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Arcade, Roguelite, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Difficult
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 97% positive over 14,935 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.0k, 1 in 20 over $30k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 106 games are announced against 69 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Perma Death with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LGBTQ+Strong odds15 devs · median $55k · 7 announced
  2. + Turn-BasedFair49 devs · median $10k · 57 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair65 devs · median $8.1k · 66 announced
  4. + Creature CollectorFair30 devs · median $5.3k · 33 announced
  5. + Mystery DungeonFair27 devs · median $2.7k · 29 announced
  6. + PiratesFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 14 announced
  7. + Traditional RoguelikeFair49 devs · median $1.8k · 55 announced
  8. + Interactive FictionFair27 devs · median $959 · 28 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair46 devs · median $719 · 31 announced
  10. + Time ManagementFair49 devs · median $539 · 66 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair21 devs · median $538 · 18 announced
  12. + 3D PlatformerFair36 devs · median $537 · 36 announced

All 164 pairs on the Perma Death page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

White Knuckle 2025 · EA · $6.8M Windowkill 2024 · $507k BZZZT 2023 · $342k Kinny and the Cosmic Cauldron 2026 · $219k Cursorblade 2023 · $150k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
White Knuckle · EA $16.99 13,356 98% 401k $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) Dark Machine Games
Windowkill older $4.99 3,390 95% 102k $507k (exactly $507,483) torcado
BZZZT older $11.99 952 93% 29k $342k (exactly $342,434) KO.DLL
Kinny and the Cosmic Cauldron $12.99 563 85% 17k $219k (exactly $219,401) Kinnymoms
Cursorblade older $4.99 1,005 85% 30k $150k (exactly $150,448) RealPeach
Seraph's Last Stand older $0.99 4,010 93% 120k $119k (exactly $119,097) Sad Socket
Tallowmere 2: Curse of the Kittens older $9.99 318 80% 9.5k $95k (exactly $95,305) Chris McFarland
Tallowmere older $3.99 767 90% 23k $92k (exactly $91,810) Chris McFarland
Dungeon Deathball older $11.99 193 95% 5.8k $69k (exactly $69,422) Matt Glanville
Lucky Shot $12.99 147 97% 4.4k $57k (exactly $57,286) Deliver Games
Relic Dudes $4.99 264 87% 7.9k $40k (exactly $39,521) Achenar Studios, danilomacb
ploink $12.99 91 96% 2.7k $35k (exactly $35,463) Pyrocreep
BEERCRUSH $4.99 206 100% 6.2k $31k (exactly $30,838) LOWLIGHT
Parking Together! $9.99 88 95% 2.6k $26k (exactly $26,374) ENGAWA GAMES
Runix: Pinball Roguelike $15.99 40 87% 1.2k $19k (exactly $19,188) Meteor Forge
Dice of Kalma $4.99 90 90% 2.7k $13k (exactly $13,473) Pepperbox Studios
Neon Ascending $3.99 90 82% 2.7k $11k (exactly $10,773) TheCarmineDepth

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