Do I ship it?

Games › PvE › PvE + Thriller

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Thriller PvE game?

PvE + Thriller

Of 98 developers who shipped a Thriller PvE game 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.. 132 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $780, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×295 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 132 games are announced against 60 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 132 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Thriller
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 98
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $2.7k → $719 → $1.3k → $1.1k → $838 → $1.4k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for PvE + Thriller: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 98
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $779 (exactly $779)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,549)
Top 5% $185k (exactly $185,165)
Developers, 2 yr 98
Released games 199
Announced 132
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 30% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
Thriller
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
PvE; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 6,112 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $780, 1 in 4 over $4.5k, 1 in 20 over $180k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 132 games are announced against 60 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Pacify 2019 · $4.9M The Thing: Remastered 2024 · $1.1M Fear Therapy 2021 · EA · $543k Granny Remake 2023 · $452k Clawed 2026 · $437k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Pacify older $4.99 32,921 86% 988k $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) Shawn Hitchcock
The Thing: Remastered $29.99 1,203 89% 36k $1.1M (exactly $1,082,339) Nightdive Studios, Computer Artworks
Fear Therapy · EA older $4.99 3,630 68% 109k $543k (exactly $543,411) Black Flag Studios
Granny Remake older $6.99 2,154 82% 65k $452k (exactly $451,694) FerriteLabs
Clawed $19.99 729 52% 22k $437k (exactly $437,181) Flatrock Games
Deathground · EA $14.99 877 61% 26k $394k (exactly $394,387) Jaw Drop Games
Hospital 666 older $7.99 1,203 71% 36k $288k (exactly $288,359) Lokin
Conrad Stevenson's Paranormal P.I. older $9.99 860 93% 26k $258k (exactly $257,742) D&A Studios
Nested Lands · EA $14.99 482 73% 14k $217k (exactly $216,755) 1M Bits Horde
Spectral Scream older $9.99 654 78% 20k $196k (exactly $196,004) STOIC Ent.
They Killed Your Cat $6.99 883 75% 26k $185k (exactly $185,165) Vekaria
La Quimera · EA $29.99 167 51% 5.0k $150k (exactly $150,250) Reburn
SIDE EFFECTS $4.99 858 83% 26k $128k (exactly $128,443) hirohun, Mr.Pootsley, Jaybooty, Lofar42
Terrordrome - Reign of the Legends $19.99 168 72% 5.0k $101k (exactly $100,750) Huracan Studio
DEDA $3.00 582 90% 17k $52k (exactly $52,380) deepins corp.
Shards Of Solitude $9.99 163 85% 4.9k $49k (exactly $48,851) Chilling Designs

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