Games › Sports › Sports + Psychological Horror
Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Sports game?
Sports + Psychological Horror
Only 14 developers shipped a Psychological-Horror Sports 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, Pro Cycling Manager 25, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 13 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $2.2k against a market of $630. 13 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,246) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,193) |
| Top 5% | $595k (exactly $595,051) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 103 |
| Announced | 13 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 up 1545% on the market, supply 65% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Sports
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- 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
- Sports; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Basketball
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 1,250 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.2k. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 13 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sports with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dynamic NarrationStrong odds
- + CraftingFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + SandboxFair
- + Split ScreenFair
- + Dating SimFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + FMVFair
- + BikesFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + Choices MatterFair
Comparable games
Ben and Ed 2015 · $1.4M 
Mount Your Friends 2014 · $768k 
Ricochet 2000 · $681k 
AFL 23 2023 · $666k 
Pro Cycling Manager 25 2025 · $595k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ben and Ed | older | $9.99 | 4,592 82% | 138k | $1.4M (exactly $1,376,222) | Sluggerfly |
| | Mount Your Friends | older | $4.99 | 5,130 95% | 154k | $768k (exactly $767,961) | Stegersaurus Software Inc. |
| | Ricochet | older | $4.99 | 4,549 82% | 136k | $681k (exactly $680,985) | Valve |
| | AFL 23 | older | $59.99 | 370 45% | 11k | $666k (exactly $665,889) | Big Ant Studios |
| | Pro Cycling Manager 25 | $39.99 | 496 75% | 15k | $595k (exactly $595,051) | Cyanide Studio | |
 | Adorables | older | $29.99 | 502 80% | 15k | $452k (exactly $451,649) | White Rabbit |
 | House of Detention | older | $0.99 | 8,413 91% | 252k | $250k (exactly $249,866) | Aniki, Male Union ♂ |
 | Golf Around! | older | $9.99 | 823 94% | 25k | $247k (exactly $246,653) | Hough Studio |
 | Wordle 5 | older | $30.62 | 242 73% | 7.3k | $222k (exactly $222,301) | PreoNus Games, Galina Kovaleva |
 | COCKHEAD | older | $6.99 | 613 63% | 18k | $129k (exactly $128,546) | Yoba Games |
 | KUNKUN Defender 2 | $4.99 | 294 94% | 8.8k | $44k (exactly $44,012) | Seal | |
 | Midnight Hoops | $3.49 | 262 89% | 7.9k | $27k (exactly $27,431) | netshrub | |
 | Splash Shot Golf Legend | $19.99 | 22 54% | 660 | $13k (exactly $13,193) | TANUKIHOUSE | |
 | Only Trump: Up To Presidents! | $8.99 | 40 67% | 1.2k | $11k (exactly $10,788) | Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel | |
 | Virtual Girlfriend | $4.99 | 55 30% | 1.7k | $8.2k (exactly $8,234) | SoerGameStudio | |
 | KAYAKING | $4.99 | 15 86% | 450 | $2.2k (exactly $2,246) | MOTIVITY | |
 | Muscle Ninja VR | $7.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) | Marudice | |
 | Spin to Survive | $2.99 | 16 93% | 480 | $1.4k (exactly $1,435) | Seal | |
 | The Night Gym | $0.99 | 44 54% | 1.3k | $1.3k (exactly $1,307) | Fireplay Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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