Psychological horror
A tough niche: many competitors for the demand that exists. Average across 4 platforms: niche 36/100, demand 60/100, competition 68/100, development cost 35/100. On Steam: 7,219 games and 265,349 players online; 26% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $12.74.
Niche
36/100
Demand (0–100)
60/100
Competition
68/100
Dev cost
35/100
Spend per player
$12.74
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
26%
Key findings
- Ranked #96 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on itch.io (48/100) and weakest on Google Play (17/100).
- Competition is above typical: 68/100 vs a median of 57/100 — standing out will take a strong hook or marketing.
- Development cost is typical: index 35/100 vs a median of 39/100.
- On Steam, 26% of games reached 500+ reviews — more often than usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 59% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 72/100 | 7,219 | 76/100 | 44/100 | 40/100 |
| itch.io | 91/100 | 20,275 | 75/100 | 48/100 | 30/100 |
| Yandex Games | no data | ||||
| Google Play | 65/100 | 97% | 95/100 | 17/100 | 35/100 |
| App Store | 15/100 | 39% | 27/100 | 33/100 | 35/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Lethal CompanyZeekerss · $9.99
Indie
PhasmophobiaKinetic Games · $19.99
Doki Doki Literature Club!Team Salvato · free
Poppy PlaytimeMob Entertainment · free
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology