Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Thriller
Should I ship a Thriller Sandbox?
Sandbox + Thriller
Only 15 developers shipped a Thriller Sandbox 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, Nested Lands, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 43 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×345 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 43 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) |
| Top 25% | $45k (exactly $45,420) |
| Top 5% | $217k (exactly $216,755) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 15 |
| Released games | 43 |
| Announced | 43 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 down 90% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 1,513 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 5 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
Hello Neighbor 2 2022 · $5.2M 
Granny Remake 2023 · $452k 
Lakeview Valley 2019 · $319k 
Conrad Stevenson's Paranormal P.I. 2023 · $258k 
Lakeview Cabin 2 2023 · $227k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hello Neighbor 2 | older | $39.99 | 4,361 81% | 131k | $5.2M (exactly $5,231,892) | Eerie Guest, tinyBuild |
| | Granny Remake | older | $6.99 | 2,154 82% | 65k | $452k (exactly $451,694) | FerriteLabs |
| | Lakeview Valley | older | $14.99 | 710 82% | 21k | $319k (exactly $319,287) | Roope Tamminen |
| | Conrad Stevenson's Paranormal P.I. | older | $9.99 | 860 93% | 26k | $258k (exactly $257,742) | D&A Studios |
| | Lakeview Cabin 2 | older | $13.99 | 542 96% | 16k | $227k (exactly $227,477) | Roope Tamminen |
 | Nested Lands | · EA | $14.99 | 482 73% | 14k | $217k (exactly $216,755) | 1M Bits Horde |
 | The Backrooms 1998 - Found Footage Survival Horror Game | $9.99 | 589 80% | 18k | $177k (exactly $176,523) | Steelkrill Studio | |
 | Erzurum | older | $0.99 | 4,358 42% | 131k | $129k (exactly $129,433) | Proximity Games |
 | Moving Houses | $13.99 | 232 72% | 7.0k | $97k (exactly $97,370) | Gordon Little | |
 | Noch | older | $9.99 | 252 78% | 7.6k | $76k (exactly $75,524) | Fair Games Studio, Noostyche |
 | Among The Whispers - Provocation | $14.99 | 101 79% | 3.0k | $45k (exactly $45,420) | D&A Studios | |
 | CyberpunkXXX | $9.99 | 21 33% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | GAMERFLEX Studios | |
 | Yes Comrade | · EA | $10.99 | 16 87% | 480 | $5.3k (exactly $5,275) | Hirschfield Software |
 | Jeff the Skinner | $3.99 | 38 63% | 1.1k | $4.5k (exactly $4,549) | Puppet House Games | |
 | Snuggle Nightmare | $4.99 | 18 100% | 540 | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) | Catire Games Studio | |
 | Lawnmower Maniac | $6.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | Samer Khatib (Snowconesolid Productions) | |
 | Dark Grid | $2.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $987 (exactly $987) | Moonlight Sand |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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