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Should I ship an Underground game?
Underground
Of 407 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 701 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×525 the market median. Revenue is down 10% on the market; 701 games are announced against 255 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,258) |
| Top 25% | $7.8k (exactly $7,780) |
| Top 5% | $249k (exactly $249,217) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 407 |
| Released games | 1,028 |
| Announced | 701 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.49 |
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 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Underground
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Price point
- $5.49 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.49.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 59,021 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 185 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 701 games are announced against 255 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
All pairs with Underground
No pair with Underground has 25 games yet.
Comparable games
BONELAB 2022 · $22M 
Watch Dogs®: Legion 2023 · $21M 
Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic 2025 · $13M 
White Knuckle 2025 · EA · $6.8M 
War for the Overworld 2015 · $5.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | BONELAB | older | $39.99 | 18,670 82% | 560k | $22M (exactly $22,398,399) | Stress Level Zero |
| | Watch Dogs®: Legion | older | $59.99 | 11,891 56% | 357k | $21M (exactly $21,400,233) | Ubisoft Toronto |
| | Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic | $39.99 | 10,874 86% | 326k | $13M (exactly $13,045,538) | Steel Wool Studios | |
| | White Knuckle | · EA | $16.99 | 13,356 98% | 401k | $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) | Dark Machine Games |
| | War for the Overworld | older | $29.99 | 6,495 85% | 195k | $5.8M (exactly $5,843,552) | Brightrock Games |
 | THE LONGING | older | $14.99 | 6,977 92% | 209k | $3.1M (exactly $3,137,557) | Studio Seufz |
 | Mr. Prepper | older | $19.99 | 4,795 81% | 144k | $2.9M (exactly $2,875,562) | Rejected Games |
 | while True: learn() | older | $12.99 | 7,350 91% | 221k | $2.9M (exactly $2,864,295) | Luden.io |
 | A Game About Digging A Hole™ | $4.99 | 18,785 89% | 564k | $2.8M (exactly $2,812,114) | DoubleBee | |
 | Until We Die | older | $16.99 | 4,221 62% | 127k | $2.2M (exactly $2,151,444) | Pixeye Games |
 | MineMogul | · EA | $14.99 | 4,330 96% | 130k | $1.9M (exactly $1,947,201) | NoodleForge (Gvarados & Diomonder) |
 | SubwaySim 2 | $34.99 | 808 82% | 24k | $848k (exactly $848,158) | Simuverse Interactive | |
 | Prison Escape Simulator: Dig Out | $7.99 | 3,490 85% | 105k | $837k (exactly $836,553) | Digital Melody | |
 | The Spotter: Dig or Die | $12.99 | 1,792 84% | 54k | $698k (exactly $698,342) | Puppyroar Games | |
 | Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999) | $9.99 | 2,329 89% | 70k | $698k (exactly $698,001) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd., GOG.com | |
 | Dungeons of Blood and Dream | $18.99 | 1,173 93% | 35k | $668k (exactly $668,258) | Lori Vornoy | |
 | Resident Evil 2 (1998) | $9.99 | 2,084 90% | 63k | $625k (exactly $624,575) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd., GOG.com |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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