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Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Runner?
Runner + Psychological Horror
Of 45 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Runner 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.. 49 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 22 developers shipped in the last year and 49 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $449 (exactly $449) |
| Top 25% | $3.4k (exactly $3,443) |
| Top 5% | $116k (exactly $115,573) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 45 |
| Released games | 124 |
| Announced | 49 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 200% 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Runner
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- 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
- Runner; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Parkour
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 5,389 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Runner with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LootFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Time AttackFair
- + FPSLong shot
- + 4 Player LocalPoor odds
- + MusicPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Interactive FictionPoor odds
Comparable games
ALTF4 2021 · $848k 
VHOLUME 2026 · $718k 
I wanna be the Creator 2019 · $514k 
Super Dark Deception 2024 · $356k 
Seen 2019 · EA · $277k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | ALTF4 | older | $2.99 | 9,452 80% | 284k | $848k (exactly $847,844) | PUMPKIM |
| | VHOLUME | $8.00 | 2,992 97% | 90k | $718k (exactly $718,080) | Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels… (Nathan Grange, Léonard Lemaitre, Niels Tiercelin) | |
| | I wanna be the Creator | older | $5.99 | 2,860 94% | 86k | $514k (exactly $513,942) | Aikesi |
| | Super Dark Deception | older | $17.99 | 660 65% | 20k | $356k (exactly $356,202) | Glowstick Entertainment |
| | Seen | · EA older | $0.99 | 9,326 91% | 280k | $277k (exactly $276,982) | Seen Games |
 | Agreeee | $4.99 | 1,150 74% | 35k | $172k (exactly $172,155) | べすとまん | |
 | Relooted | $14.99 | 257 87% | 7.7k | $116k (exactly $115,573) | Nyamakop | |
 | Decimate Drive | older | $7.99 | 321 91% | 9.6k | $77k (exactly $76,944) | Some Random Designing |
 | Ikarus Parkour | $12.99 | 195 81% | 5.9k | $76k (exactly $75,992) | Vanja Aleksić | |
 | No More Rainbows | older | $19.99 | 120 90% | 3.6k | $72k (exactly $71,964) | Squido Studio, Robot Teddy |
 | BEHEMOTH | $3.99 | 412 88% | 12k | $49k (exactly $49,316) | The Behemoth | |
 | 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 | |
 | Misty Onsen | $5.99 | 32 56% | 960 | $5.8k (exactly $5,750) | 神 SHEN | |
 | Campfire: Night One | $14.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $5.4k (exactly $5,396) | Prisca, Mezey Krisztián | |
 | Lazy Climbers | $4.99 | 35 68% | 1.1k | $5.2k (exactly $5,240) | Cool Car Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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