Do I ship it?

Games › Settings › Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological game?

Psychological

Of 1,532 developers who shipped a Psychological 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.. 2,494 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×288 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 2,494 games are announced against 958 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 2,494 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,532
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.8k → $2.1k → $3.0k → $1.9k → $2.4k → $1.8k → $987 (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,532
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,317)
Top 25% $6.9k (exactly $6,924)
Top 5% $137k (exactly $136,822)
Developers, 2 yr 1,532
Released games 3,748
Announced 2,494
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 10% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.49 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.49 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 224,833 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 $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $6.9k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 785 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 2,494 games are announced against 958 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Psychological

86 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. RPG + Psychological Poor odds $980 191 devs
  2. Puzzle + Psychological Poor odds $959 502 devs
  3. Action + Psychological Poor odds $950 387 devs
  4. Hidden Object + Psychological Poor odds $899 220 devs
  5. Survival + Psychological Poor odds $899 152 devs
  6. Tactical RPG + Psychological Poor odds $899 17 devs
  7. Combat + Psychological Poor odds $898 57 devs
  8. PvP + Psychological Poor odds $898 53 devs
  9. Character Customization + Psychological Poor odds $898 22 devs
  10. Strategy + Psychological Poor odds $896 160 devs
  11. Action-Adventure + Psychological Poor odds $807 261 devs
  12. Solitaire + Psychological Poor odds $720 13 devs
  13. Roguelike + Psychological Poor odds $718 51 devs
  14. Card Game + Psychological Poor odds $718 34 devs
  15. 3D Platformer + Psychological Poor odds $629 83 devs
  16. CRPG + Psychological Poor odds $629 20 devs
  17. PvE + Psychological Poor odds $600 64 devs
  18. Puzzle Platformer + Psychological Poor odds $599 62 devs
  19. Time Management + Psychological Poor odds $599 44 devs
  20. Party Game + Psychological Poor odds $599 23 devs
  21. Procedural Generation + Psychological Poor odds $539 39 devs
  22. Tactical + Psychological Poor odds $539 24 devs
  23. 2D Platformer + Psychological Poor odds $449 80 devs
  24. Mystery Dungeon + Psychological Poor odds $449 23 devs
  25. Quick-Time Events + Psychological Poor odds $449 17 devs
  26. Resource Management + Psychological Poor odds $420 29 devs
  27. Platformer + Psychological Poor odds $359 58 devs
  28. Inventory Management + Psychological Poor odds $359 18 devs
  29. Typing + Psychological Poor odds $300 10 devs
  30. Action RPG + Psychological Dead $449 31 devs
  31. Perma Death + Psychological Dead $419 34 devs
  32. Parkour + Psychological Dead $359 13 devs
  33. Arcade + Psychological Dead $300 50 devs
  34. Dungeon Crawler + Psychological Dead $298 31 devs
  35. Collectathon + Psychological Dead $239 18 devs
  36. Precision Platformer + Psychological Dead $150 22 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Among Us 2018 · $99M SILENT HILL 2 2024 · $91M Inscryption 2021 · $81M Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice 2017 · $60M This War of Mine 2014 · $49M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Among Us older $4.99 659,003 92% 20M $99M (exactly $98,652,749) Innersloth
SILENT HILL 2 $69.99 43,367 94% 1.3M $91M (exactly $91,057,690) Bloober Team SA
Inscryption older $19.99 135,017 96% 4.1M $81M (exactly $80,969,695) Daniel Mullins Games
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice older $29.99 66,788 90% 2.0M $60M (exactly $60,089,164) Ninja Theory
This War of Mine older $19.99 81,804 93% 2.5M $49M (exactly $49,057,859) 11 bit studios
SILENT HILL f $69.99 19,061 80% 572k $40M (exactly $40,022,382) NeoBards Entertainment Ltd.
DREDGE older $24.99 47,624 95% 1.4M $36M (exactly $35,703,713) Black Salt Games
NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD older $15.99 54,053 94% 1.6M $26M (exactly $25,929,224) WSS playground, xemono
BONELAB older $39.99 18,670 82% 560k $22M (exactly $22,398,399) Stress Level Zero
Psychonauts 2 older $59.99 12,333 95% 370k $22M (exactly $22,195,700) Double Fine Productions
The Alters $34.99 15,330 90% 460k $16M (exactly $16,091,901) 11 bit studios
Mouthwashing $12.99 34,353 95% 1.0M $13M (exactly $13,387,364) Wrong Organ
No, I'm not a Human $14.99 27,222 93% 817k $12M (exactly $12,241,733) Trioskaz
Revenge on gold diggers $6.99 46,610 80% 1.4M $9.8M (exactly $9,774,117) 前方工作室
Call of Duty®: Black Ops 7 $69.99 4,344 37% 130k $9.1M (exactly $9,121,097) Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High… (Treyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Activision Shanghai, Demonware)
CloverPit $9.99 24,710 90% 741k $7.4M (exactly $7,405,587) Panik Arcade
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage $39.99 5,873 86% 176k $7.0M (exactly $7,045,838) DON'T NOD
KARMA: The Dark World $24.99 3,963 90% 119k $3.0M (exactly $2,971,061) POLLARD STUDIO LLC

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