Games › Rhythm › Rhythm + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Rhythm game?
Rhythm + Psychological Horror
Only 17 developers shipped a Psychological-Horror Rhythm game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×5.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×4264 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 24 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.1k (exactly $1,076) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.6k (exactly $2,601) |
| Top 25% | $69k (exactly $68,804) |
| Top 5% | $2.0M (exactly $2,025,548) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 62 |
| Announced | 24 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 95% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 23%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Rhythm
- effort 3 / 10 · medium · audio sync, timing precision and music rights
- Psychological Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Rhythm; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Surreal, Cute, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 6,820 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 3 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Rhythm with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Choose Your Own AdventureStrong odds
- + Third-Person ShooterStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + ModernFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + ManagementFair
- + Beat 'em upFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + Choices MatterFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Combat RacingFair
Comparable games
Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M 
Muse Dash 2019 · $10M 
Thumper 2016 · $2.4M 
Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis 2026 · $2.0M 
Symphonic Rain 2017 · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Geometry Dash | older | $4.99 | 595,606 93% | 18M | $89M (exactly $89,162,218) | RobTop Games |
| | Muse Dash | older | $2.99 | 112,437 91% | 3.4M | $10M (exactly $10,085,599) | peropero |
| | Thumper | older | $19.99 | 4,056 91% | 122k | $2.4M (exactly $2,432,383) | Drool |
| | Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis | $16.99 | 3,974 91% | 119k | $2.0M (exactly $2,025,548) | Alliance Arts, WHO YOU | |
| | Symphonic Rain | older | $39.99 | 1,114 97% | 33k | $1.3M (exactly $1,336,466) | KOGADO STUDIO |
 | Incredibox | older | $4.99 | 5,633 96% | 169k | $843k (exactly $843,260) | So Far So Good |
 | Zup! X | older | $1.99 | 6,480 96% | 194k | $387k (exactly $386,856) | Quiet River |
 | Metro Gravity | $12.99 | 852 92% | 26k | $332k (exactly $332,024) | mrkogamedev | |
 | ADEN | $8.99 | 670 96% | 20k | $181k (exactly $180,699) | takayakata | |
 | ROGUE LIGHT DECK BUILDER | $3.99 | 888 94% | 27k | $106k (exactly $106,294) | Gil Lawson | |
 | A Chamber of Stars | $14.99 | 153 99% | 4.6k | $69k (exactly $68,804) | Erik Sheader-Smith, Equation Feeder Gam… (Erik Sheader-Smith, Equation Feeder Games) | |
 | Lover's Enigma | $11.99 | 98 87% | 2.9k | $35k (exactly $35,251) | FallenCranberry Studio | |
 | This Curse Is Metal as Hell! | Kusodeka Bayashi | $2.99 | 138 98% | 4.1k | $12k (exactly $12,379) | HAZECODE | |
 | Remote Control | $12.99 | 8 25% | 240 | $3.1k (exactly $3,118) | eroG Interactive | |
 | Clapism | $2.99 | 29 86% | 870 | $2.6k (exactly $2,601) | Woodpile | |
 | Relapse | $7.99 | 10 90% | 300 | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) | Hexatunes |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.