Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Souls-like?
Souls-like + Psychological Horror
Of 59 developers who shipped a Psychological-Horror Souls-like 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.. 65 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $5.8k, ×3.9 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $3.0M, ×2056 the market median. Revenue is up 335% on the market; 65 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $5.8k (exactly $5,821) |
| Top 25% | $99k (exactly $98,624) |
| Top 5% | $3.1M (exactly $3,079,339) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 59 |
| Released games | 215 |
| Announced | 65 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.00 |
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 335% on the market, supply as many developers as 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.
- Souls-like
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Psychological Horror
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Souls-like; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, RPG
- Price point
- $6.00 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Anime, Funny, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.00.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 54,480 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 6 in 10 of the 35 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 65 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Souls-like with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Precision PlatformerLong shot
- + Score AttackLong shot
- + WarPoor odds
- + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
Comparable games
SILENT HILL f 2025 · $40M 
CODE VEIN II 2026 · $11M 
コイカツ！ / Koikatsu Party 2019 · $9.5M 
Living With Sister: Monochrome Fantasy 2024 · $5.9M 
YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story 2020 · $5.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SILENT HILL f | $69.99 | 19,061 80% | 572k | $40M (exactly $40,022,382) | NeoBards Entertainment Ltd. | |
| | CODE VEIN II | $69.99 | 5,193 66% | 156k | $11M (exactly $10,903,742) | Bandai Namco Studios Inc. | |
| | コイカツ！ / Koikatsu Party | older | $59.99 | 5,298 91% | 159k | $9.5M (exactly $9,534,811) | ILLUSION |
| | Living With Sister: Monochrome Fantasy | older | $12.99 | 15,119 69% | 454k | $5.9M (exactly $5,891,874) | Inusuku |
| | YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story | older | $29.99 | 6,033 95% | 181k | $5.4M (exactly $5,427,890) | Nitroplus |
 | Fear & Hunger 2: Termina | older | $11.99 | 14,232 97% | 427k | $5.1M (exactly $5,119,250) | Miro Haverinen |
 | Jump King | older | $12.99 | 12,342 90% | 370k | $4.8M (exactly $4,809,677) | Nexile |
 | BLACK SOULS | $13.99 | 7,337 95% | 220k | $3.1M (exactly $3,079,339) | Eeny, meeny, miny, moe? | |
 | Hellpoint | older | $34.99 | 2,582 76% | 77k | $2.7M (exactly $2,710,325) | Cradle Games |
 | Changed | older | $4.99 | 16,062 88% | 482k | $2.4M (exactly $2,404,481) | DragonSnow |
 | BLACK SOULS II | $13.99 | 5,277 97% | 158k | $2.2M (exactly $2,214,757) | Eeny, meeny, miny, moe? | |
 | The Headliners | $7.99 | 8,534 86% | 256k | $2.0M (exactly $2,045,600) | KAFI | |
 | Nunholy | $7.99 | 5,150 88% | 155k | $1.2M (exactly $1,234,455) | Chowbie | |
 | JUMP KING QUEST | $14.99 | 1,202 88% | 36k | $541k (exactly $540,539) | Nexile | |
 | ButtKnight | $9.99 | 1,299 91% | 39k | $389k (exactly $389,310) | Goblin Stew, Critical Bliss | |
 | The Married Woman Nextdoor - Creampie SEX Beside Her Husband | $9.99 | 933 86% | 28k | $280k (exactly $279,620) | AibanWork | |
 | ENTITY: THE BLACK DAY | $17.99 | 494 79% | 15k | $267k (exactly $266,612) | ASD Games Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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