Games › Racing › Racing + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Racing game?
Racing + Psychological Horror
Of 24 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Racing 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.. 23 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×3.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $840; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×1716 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 23 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $838 (exactly $838) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.1k (exactly $2,063) |
| Top 25% | $5.2k (exactly $5,240) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,077,841) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 83 |
| Announced | 23 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 flat on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Racing
- effort 6 / 10 · low · vehicle handling, track content and opponent AI
- Psychological Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Racing; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Driving, Automobile Sim
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 128,829 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $840. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Racing with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + CapitalismStrong odds
- + ModernFair
- + TransportationFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Grand StrategyFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Time ManipulationFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + City BuilderLong shot
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
Comparable games
My Summer Car 2025 · $49M 
City Car Driving 2016 · $25M 
The Long Drive 2019 · EA · $24M 
My Winter Car 2025 · EA · $8.4M 
Thumper 2016 · $2.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | My Summer Car | $14.99 | 108,503 94% | 3.3M | $49M (exactly $48,793,799) | Amistech Games | |
| | City Car Driving | older | $24.99 | 33,612 82% | 1.0M | $25M (exactly $25,198,916) | Forward Development, Ltd. |
| | The Long Drive | · EA older | $15.99 | 50,184 88% | 1.5M | $24M (exactly $24,073,265) | Genesz |
| | My Winter Car | · EA | $14.99 | 18,614 94% | 558k | $8.4M (exactly $8,370,716) | Amistech Games |
| | Thumper | older | $19.99 | 4,056 91% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,432,383) | Drool |
 | FlatOut 4: Total Insanity | older | $29.99 | 1,938 53% | 58k | $1.7M (exactly $1,743,619) | Kylotonn |
 | FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction | older | $9.99 | 3,672 17% | 110k | $1.1M (exactly $1,100,498) | Team 6 Studios |
 | City Car Driving 2.0 | · EA | $29.99 | 1,198 60% | 36k | $1.1M (exactly $1,077,841) | Forward Development, Ltd. |
 | 4D Golf | older | $19.99 | 775 98% | 23k | $465k (exactly $464,767) | CodeParade |
 | CPU Invaders | older | $29.99 | 496 86% | 15k | $446k (exactly $446,251) | Microblast Games |
 | Dark Succubus | $6.99 | 171 77% | 5.1k | $36k (exactly $35,859) | ZC Game | |
 | Progress Racer RPG | $5.99 | 133 94% | 4.0k | $24k (exactly $23,900) | Cameron Ladjevardi, David Elliot | |
 | The Liminal Dimension | $3.99 | 88 79% | 2.6k | $11k (exactly $10,534) | Airem | |
 | Lazy Climbers | $4.99 | 35 68% | 1.1k | $5.2k (exactly $5,240) | Cool Car Studio | |
 | Final Word Royale | $4.99 | 30 60% | 900 | $4.5k (exactly $4,491) | NyxWorks | |
 | Crab Game 2 | $3.99 | 36 22% | 1.1k | $4.3k (exactly $4,309) | Jeff | |
 | Green Heights | $5.99 | 21 100% | 630 | $3.8k (exactly $3,774) | Samuel Dufour |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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