Should I ship a Dark-Humor game?
Dark Humor
Of 1,201 developers who shipped a Dark-Humor 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.. 1,974 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×569 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 1,974 games are announced against 720 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $416 (exactly $416) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $16,184) |
| Top 5% | $270k (exactly $270,087) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 1,201 |
| Released games | 3,295 |
| Announced | 1,974 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $6.19 |
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 15% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Dark Humor
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Price point
- $6.19 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.19.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 175,918 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 589 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,974 games are announced against 720 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
All pairs with Dark Humor
No pair with Dark Humor has 25 games yet.
Comparable games
Borderlands 2 2012 · $126M 
Portal 2 2011 · $117M 
The Outlast Trials 2024 · $109M 
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition 2020 · $108M 
Cult of the Lamb 2022 · $84M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Borderlands 2 | older | $19.99 | 210,364 89% | 6.3M | $126M (exactly $126,155,291) | Gearbox Software, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (L… (Gearbox Software, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux)) |
| | Portal 2 | older | $9.99 | 390,412 98% | 12M | $117M (exactly $117,006,476) | Valve |
| | The Outlast Trials | older | $39.99 | 90,997 92% | 2.7M | $109M (exactly $109,169,101) | Red Barrels |
| | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition | older | $19.99 | 180,637 83% | 5.4M | $108M (exactly $108,328,009) | Rockstar North, Rockstar Toronto |
| | Cult of the Lamb | older | $24.99 | 112,096 95% | 3.4M | $84M (exactly $84,038,371) | Massive Monster |
 | South Park™: The Stick of Truth™ | older | $29.99 | 60,770 97% | 1.8M | $55M (exactly $54,674,769) | Obsidian Entertainment |
 | Portal | older | $9.99 | 173,594 98% | 5.2M | $52M (exactly $52,026,122) | Valve |
 | Noita | older | $19.99 | 81,149 95% | 2.4M | $49M (exactly $48,665,055) | Nolla Games |
 | Mewgenics | $29.99 | 49,996 89% | 1.5M | $45M (exactly $44,981,401) | Edmund McMillen, Tyler Glaiel | |
 | PAYDAY 3 | older | $29.99 | 49,305 45% | 1.5M | $44M (exactly $44,359,708) | Starbreeze Studios |
 | Sultan's Game | $24.99 | 25,061 93% | 752k | $19M (exactly $18,788,232) | Double Cross | |
 | Mouthwashing | $12.99 | 34,353 95% | 1.0M | $13M (exactly $13,387,364) | Wrong Organ | |
 | The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy- | $59.99 | 6,893 88% | 207k | $12M (exactly $12,405,332) | Too Kyo Games, Media.Vision Inc. | |
 | CloverPit | $9.99 | 24,710 90% | 741k | $7.4M (exactly $7,405,587) | Panik Arcade | |
 | SULFUR | · EA | $24.99 | 9,641 87% | 289k | $7.2M (exactly $7,227,858) | Perfect Random |
 | Quarantine Zone: The Last Check | $19.99 | 11,827 81% | 355k | $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) | Brigada Games | |
 | Cash Cleaner Simulator | $19.99 | 7,334 92% | 220k | $4.4M (exactly $4,398,200) | Mind Control Games | |
 | HENPRI | $24.99 | 3,903 96% | 117k | $2.9M (exactly $2,926,079) | Qruppo | |
 | High On Life 2 | $39.99 | 2,200 71% | 66k | $2.6M (exactly $2,639,340) | Squanch Games, Inc. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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