Should I ship a PvP Rhythm game?
PvP + Rhythm
Of 30 developers who shipped a PvP Rhythm 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.. 38 more are announced.
Verdict: long shot, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300, ×0.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $380k, ×256 the market median. Revenue is up 380% on the market; 38 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $300 (exactly $300) |
| Top 25% | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) |
| Top 5% | $384k (exactly $383,808) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 30 |
| Released games | 103 |
| Announced | 38 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 380% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 29%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- PvP, Rhythm; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Co-op
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Anime
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 4,116 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
PvP with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + BaseballFair
- + TransportationFair
- + BasketballFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + BikesFair
- + GolfFair
- + World War IFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + BilliardsFair
- + TennisLong shot
- + TypingLong shot
- + SpellingLong shot
Comparable games
DJMAX RESPECT V 2020 · $45M 
Beat Saber 2019 · $42M 
EZ2ON REBOOT : R 2022 · $8.1M 
Ragnarock 2021 · $2.1M 
Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival 2024 · $1.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DJMAX RESPECT V | older | $49.99 | 29,808 88% | 894k | $45M (exactly $44,703,058) | NEOWIZ |
| | Beat Saber | older | $19.99 | 69,750 95% | 2.1M | $42M (exactly $41,829,075) | Beat Games |
| | EZ2ON REBOOT : R | older | $44.99 | 5,972 91% | 179k | $8.1M (exactly $8,060,408) | Neonovice Co., Ltd., SQUARE PIXELS |
| | Ragnarock | older | $24.99 | 2,775 94% | 83k | $2.1M (exactly $2,080,417) | WanadevStudio |
| | Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival | $49.99 | 1,277 83% | 38k | $1.9M (exactly $1,915,117) | Bandai Namco Amusement Lab Inc. | |
 | Headbangers: Rhythm Royale | older | $29.99 | 983 69% | 29k | $884k (exactly $884,405) | Glee-Cheese Studio |
 | Beat Hazard 2 | older | $18.99 | 1,396 89% | 42k | $795k (exactly $795,301) | Cold Beam Games |
 | The Jackbox Party Pack 10 | older | $29.99 | 500 65% | 15k | $450k (exactly $449,850) | Jackbox Games, Inc. |
 | KALPA: Cosmic Symphony | $19.99 | 640 84% | 19k | $384k (exactly $383,808) | QueseraGames | |
 | Beat Hazard 3 | older | $19.99 | 586 84% | 18k | $351k (exactly $351,424) | Cold Beam Games |
 | Rhythia | · EA | $3.99 | 2,029 83% | 61k | $243k (exactly $242,871) | Capo Games |
 | Dance Eden | $19.99 | 42 85% | 1.3k | $25k (exactly $25,187) | DigiEden | |
 | Lunars | · EA | $14.99 | 40 97% | 1.2k | $18k (exactly $17,988) | Anubis Arts |
 | Aaero2 | $14.99 | 36 94% | 1.1k | $16k (exactly $16,189) | Mad Fellows | |
 | MAGICAL BEAT | $9.99 | 29 79% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | Arc System Works, APLUS Co., Ltd. | |
 | Catch Flex | $9.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) | Vilegacy | |
 | Gorilla Showdown | $6.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $2.1k (exactly $2,097) | Sloth King | |
 | Trombone Rumble | $4.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $898 (exactly $898) | Biksari Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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