Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelike › Roguelike + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Roguelike?

Roguelike + Psychological Horror

Of 137 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Roguelike 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.. 227 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×554 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 227 games are announced against 85 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 227 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelike + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 137
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $6.1k → $1.7k → $3.1k → $13k → $1.3k → $1.7k (still earning) → $598 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelike + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 137
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,797)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $16,731)
Top 5% $263k (exactly $263,023)
Developers, 2 yr 137
Released games 266
Announced 227
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.99

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 50% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Roguelike
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Psychological Horror
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
Roguelike; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Adventure, Strategy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 57,821 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 227 games are announced against 85 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Roguelike with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair85 devs · median $5.2k · 103 announced
  2. + 6DOFFair15 devs · median $4.7k · 7 announced
  3. + Grand StrategyFair18 devs · median $3.3k · 22 announced
  4. + VampiresFair59 devs · median $3.1k · 58 announced
  5. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.9k · 17 announced
  6. + Artificial IntelligenceFair60 devs · median $1.8k · 85 announced
  7. + SuperheroFair12 devs · median $1.1k · 17 announced
  8. + IdlerFair160 devs · median $1.0k · 206 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair841 devs · median $959 · 1,066 announced
  10. + Walking SimulatorFair29 devs · median $718 · 28 announced
  11. + 2D PlatformerFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  12. + Traditional RoguelikeFair247 devs · median $599 · 314 announced

All 231 pairs on the Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation 2018 · $39M Returnal™ 2023 · $12M Buckshot Roulette 2024 · $9.9M CloverPit 2025 · $7.4M Cultist Simulator 2018 · $6.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation older $24.99 52,522 94% 1.6M $39M (exactly $39,375,743) ProjectMoon
Returnal™ older $59.99 6,602 79% 198k $12M (exactly $11,881,619) Housemarque, Climax Studios
Buckshot Roulette older $2.99 110,042 95% 3.3M $9.9M (exactly $9,870,767) Mike Klubnika
CloverPit $9.99 24,710 90% 741k $7.4M (exactly $7,405,587) Panik Arcade
Cultist Simulator older $19.99 10,496 82% 315k $6.3M (exactly $6,294,451) Weather Factory
WORLD OF HORROR older $19.99 8,991 89% 270k $5.4M (exactly $5,391,903) panstasz
Fear & Hunger older $7.99 20,881 94% 626k $5.0M (exactly $5,005,176) Miro Haverinen
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu $29.99 3,107 69% 93k $2.8M (exactly $2,795,368) ACE Team
Nubby's Number Factory $4.99 18,138 97% 544k $2.7M (exactly $2,715,259) MogDogBlog Productions
Card Survival: Tropical Island older $24.99 2,962 94% 89k $2.2M (exactly $2,220,611) WinterSpring Games
Nunholy $7.99 5,150 88% 155k $1.2M (exactly $1,234,455) Chowbie
Pronoun Palace $19.84 1,249 99% 37k $743k (exactly $743,405) Cadence Petersen, Hazel Fackler
Deck of Haunts $19.99 1,206 84% 36k $723k (exactly $723,238) Mantis
Desktop Defender $4.99 1,757 92% 53k $263k (exactly $263,023) Conradical Games
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
It Has My Face $9.99 608 88% 18k $182k (exactly $182,218) NightByte Games
Menherarium: Deadly Dice $8.99 669 92% 20k $180k (exactly $180,429) テスカトリポカ

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