Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Stealth

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Stealth Souls-like?

Souls-like + Stealth

Of 22 developers who shipped a Stealth 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.. 48 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $580k, ×388 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 48 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 48 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Stealth
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $35k → $7.2k → $300 → $1.7k → $1.4k → $719 (still earning) → $12k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Stealth: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,648)
Top 25% $48k (exactly $47,668)
Top 5% $582k (exactly $581,854)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 62
Announced 48
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.00

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 55% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Stealth
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like, Stealth; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Exploration
Price point
$8.00 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Dark, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $8.00.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 3,594 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $47k, 1 in 20 over $580k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition 2019 · $467M Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT 2024 · $116M Vampyr 2018 · $24M Blood West 2023 · $4.6M Bleak Faith: Forsaken 2023 · $2.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition older $59.99 259,508 95% 7.8M $467M (exactly $467,036,548) FromSoftware, Inc.
Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT older $59.99 64,591 93% 1.9M $116M (exactly $116,244,423) Sucker Punch Productions, Nixxes Softwa… (Sucker Punch Productions, Nixxes Software)
Vampyr older $39.99 20,081 77% 602k $24M (exactly $24,091,176) DONTNOD Entertainment
Blood West older $24.99 6,132 90% 184k $4.6M (exactly $4,597,160) Hyperstrange
Bleak Faith: Forsaken older $29.99 2,839 75% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Archangel Studios
Psycho Patrol R · EA $39.99 2,090 88% 63k $2.5M (exactly $2,507,373) Consumer Softproducts
Mini Ninjas older $9.99 3,682 90% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,103,495) IO Interactive
Withering Rooms older $24.99 1,209 96% 36k $906k (exactly $906,387) Moonless Formless
Kristala $39.99 485 71% 15k $582k (exactly $581,854) Astral Clocktower Studios
The Axis Unseen $24.99 309 75% 9.3k $232k (exactly $231,657) Just Purkey Games
Frankie's FunClub $14.99 236 65% 7.1k $106k (exactly $106,129) LOVEBITES
Redemption of Liuyin $18.99 137 83% 4.1k $78k (exactly $78,049) kingnagame
INTO EVIL · EA $14.99 106 92% 3.2k $48k (exactly $47,668) Mind's Eye Games
Vapor World: Over The Mind · EA $14.99 87 47% 2.6k $39k (exactly $39,124) ALIVE Inc.
Loli Ninja Village $6.99 92 80% 2.8k $19k (exactly $19,292) PAON, 072 Localize
DEATH PENALTY $11.99 33 84% 990 $12k (exactly $11,870) HACKJOB
Pollen · EA $2.99 19 84% 570 $1.7k (exactly $1,704) FSTR

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