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Should I ship a Thriller Physics game?
Physics + Thriller
Of 54 developers who shipped a Thriller 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.. 106 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $97k, ×155 the market median. Revenue is up 15% on the market; 106 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) |
| Top 25% | $6.7k (exactly $6,703) |
| Top 5% | $97k (exactly $97,370) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 54 |
| Released games | 110 |
| Announced | 106 |
| 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 15% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Physics; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Simulation, Action
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 7 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 75% positive over 3,903 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 106 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Superliminal | older | $19.99 | 28,428 94% | 853k | $17M (exactly $17,048,272) | Pillow Castle |
| | Hidden Deep | · EA older | $24.99 | 4,293 76% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) | Cogwheel Software |
| | DARQ: Complete Edition | older | $19.99 | 3,575 94% | 107k | $2.1M (exactly $2,143,928) | Unfold Games |
| | Evil Nun: The Broken Mask | older | $19.99 | 1,084 95% | 33k | $650k (exactly $650,075) | Keplerians, Carlos Coronado |
| | Deathground | · EA | $14.99 | 877 61% | 26k | $394k (exactly $394,387) | Jaw Drop Games |
| | Golfing Over It with Alva Majo | older | $4.99 | 1,461 75% | 44k | $219k (exactly $218,712) | Majorariatto |
| | They Killed Your Cat | $6.99 | 883 75% | 26k | $185k (exactly $185,165) | Vekaria | |
| | THE MULLER-POWELL PRINCIPLE | older | $14.99 | 341 71% | 10k | $153k (exactly $153,348) | Three Dots Games |
| | Exit From | older | $9.99 | 489 83% | 15k | $147k (exactly $146,553) | White Box, Elendely |
| | Tornado: Research and Rescue | · EA older | $12.99 | 356 85% | 11k | $139k (exactly $138,733) | Sam Kennedy |
| | Moving Houses | $13.99 | 232 72% | 7.0k | $97k (exactly $97,370) | Gordon Little | |
| | Cat Named Mojave | $9.99 | 307 95% | 9.2k | $92k (exactly $92,008) | Stargazers Studios | |
| | Japan Stigmatized Property -日本事故物件監視協会- | $7.99 | 360 74% | 11k | $86k (exactly $86,292) | 日本事故物件監視協会 | |
| | DEDA | $3.00 | 582 90% | 17k | $52k (exactly $52,380) | deepins corp. | |
| | It Reaches | $12.99 | 128 78% | 3.8k | $50k (exactly $49,882) | Emberflight Games | |
| | Dollhouse of Dead | $6.99 | 140 75% | 4.2k | $29k (exactly $29,358) | Renderise Games | |
| | Lost Luminosity | $3.99 | 235 83% | 7.1k | $28k (exactly $28,130) | Ember Wing Games | |
| | Liminal Universe | $4.80 | 159 60% | 4.8k | $23k (exactly $22,896) | Gvn Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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