Games › Physics › Physics + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Physics game?
Physics + Psychological Horror
Of 281 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Physics 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.. 319 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×327 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 319 games are announced against 144 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $538 (exactly $538) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
| Top 25% | $7.7k (exactly $7,722) |
| Top 5% | $205k (exactly $205,149) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 281 |
| Released games | 631 |
| Announced | 319 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 80% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Physics
- effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning
- Psychological Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Physics; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 177,773 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 155 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 319 games are announced against 144 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Physics with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderStrong odds
- + Dating SimFair
- + PinballFair
- + World War IIFair
- + Mini GolfFair
- + GolfFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CatsFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + BilliardsFair
Comparable games
People Playground 2019 · $89M 
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 2024 · $45M 
Gorilla Tag 2023 · $32M 
City Car Driving 2016 · $25M 
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy 2017 · $18M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | People Playground | older | $9.99 | 298,158 98% | 8.9M | $89M (exactly $89,357,953) | mestiez |
| | Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 | $69.99 | 21,633 59% | 649k | $45M (exactly $45,422,810) | Asobo Studio | |
| | Gorilla Tag | older | $19.99 | 52,637 93% | 1.6M | $32M (exactly $31,566,409) | Another Axiom Inc. |
| | City Car Driving | older | $24.99 | 33,612 82% | 1.0M | $25M (exactly $25,198,916) | Forward Development, Ltd. |
| | Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy | older | $7.99 | 75,118 82% | 2.3M | $18M (exactly $18,005,785) | Bennett Foddy |
 | RV There Yet? | $7.99 | 72,732 90% | 2.2M | $17M (exactly $17,433,860) | Nuggets Entertainment | |
 | Content Warning | older | $7.99 | 72,444 93% | 2.2M | $17M (exactly $17,364,827) | Zorro, Wilnyl, Philip, thePetHen, Skog |
 | Superliminal | older | $19.99 | 28,428 94% | 853k | $17M (exactly $17,048,272) | Pillow Castle |
 | How to Fish | $7.99 | 57,661 95% | 1.7M | $14M (exactly $13,821,342) | Dazed Games | |
 | Amnesia: The Dark Descent | older | $19.99 | 20,420 95% | 613k | $12M (exactly $12,245,874) | Frictional Games |
 | Berry Bury Berry | $7.99 | 8,619 98% | 259k | $2.1M (exactly $2,065,974) | Get(Color) Games | |
 | ANEURISM IV | $9.99 | 5,686 75% | 171k | $1.7M (exactly $1,704,094) | Vellocet | |
 | Baby Steps | $19.99 | 2,355 90% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,412,294) | Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy | |
 | Funnel Runners | · EA | $14.99 | 2,941 83% | 88k | $1.3M (exactly $1,322,568) | Supernova Studios LLC |
 | City Car Driving 2.0 | · EA | $29.99 | 1,198 60% | 36k | $1.1M (exactly $1,077,841) | Forward Development, Ltd. |
 | Machine Party | $7.99 | 4,199 87% | 126k | $1.0M (exactly $1,006,500) | Mike Klubnika, GDeavid | |
 | Animal Company | · EA | $19.99 | 749 86% | 22k | $449k (exactly $449,175) | Wooster Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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