Should I ship a Rhythm game?
Rhythm
Of 511 developers who shipped a 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.. 712 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×511 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 712 games are announced against 312 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,193) |
| Top 5% | $243k (exactly $242,871) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 511 |
| Released games | 1,797 |
| Announced | 712 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 30% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Rhythm
- effort 3 / 10 · medium · audio sync, timing precision and music rights
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Rhythm
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 77,384 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 279 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 712 games are announced against 312 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.
All pairs with Rhythm
- Sandbox + Rhythm Dead $267
- Rhythm + Incremental Dead $239
- Flight + Rhythm Dead $239
- Souls-like + Rhythm Dead $239
- Rhythm + Tabletop Dead $179
- Collectathon + Rhythm Dead $178
- 3D Platformer + Rhythm Dead $150
- Rhythm + Point & Click Dead $150
- Precision Platformer + Rhythm Dead $150
- Physics + Rhythm Dead $120
- Rhythm + Match 3 Dead $120
Comparable games
Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition 2019 · $467M 
Geometry Dash 2014 · $89M 
DJMAX RESPECT V 2020 · $45M 
Beat Saber 2019 · $42M 
Hi-Fi RUSH 2023 · $25M | 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. |
| | Geometry Dash | older | $4.99 | 595,606 93% | 18M | $89M (exactly $89,162,218) | RobTop Games |
| | 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 |
| | Hi-Fi RUSH | older | $29.99 | 27,454 97% | 824k | $25M (exactly $24,700,364) | Tango Gameworks |
 | Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ | older | $39.39 | 19,507 94% | 585k | $23M (exactly $23,051,422) | SEGA |
 | Rhythm Doctor | $19.99 | 25,021 98% | 751k | $15M (exactly $15,005,094) | 7th Beat Games | |
 | Just Shapes & Beats | older | $19.99 | 24,041 97% | 721k | $14M (exactly $14,417,388) | Berzerk Studio |
 | A Dance of Fire and Ice | older | $5.99 | 78,688 94% | 2.4M | $14M (exactly $14,140,234) | 7th Beat Games |
 | Metal: Hellsinger | older | $29.99 | 13,989 96% | 420k | $13M (exactly $12,585,903) | The Outsiders |
 | Dead as Disco | · EA | $24.99 | 12,354 96% | 371k | $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) | Brain Jar Games, Inc. |
 | UNBEATABLE | $27.99 | 6,552 92% | 197k | $5.5M (exactly $5,501,714) | D-CELL GAMES | |
 | Rocksmith® 2014 Edition REMASTERED LEARN & PLAY | $9.99 | 15,615 85% | 468k | $4.7M (exactly $4,679,816) | Ubisoft - San Francisco, Ubisoft - Osaka | |
 | Rift of the NecroDancer | $19.99 | 5,844 93% | 175k | $3.5M (exactly $3,504,647) | Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios I… (Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Studios Inc.) | |
 | Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis | $16.99 | 3,974 91% | 119k | $2.0M (exactly $2,025,548) | Alliance Arts, WHO YOU | |
 | Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival | $49.99 | 1,277 83% | 38k | $1.9M (exactly $1,915,117) | Bandai Namco Amusement Lab Inc. | |
 | PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY | $29.99 | 2,091 83% | 63k | $1.9M (exactly $1,881,273) | SAS CO.,LTD. | |
 | Ratatan | · EA | $24.99 | 2,449 85% | 73k | $1.8M (exactly $1,836,015) | TVT Co. Ltd., Ratata Arts |
 | Everhood 2 | $19.99 | 2,207 74% | 66k | $1.3M (exactly $1,323,538) | Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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