Do I ship it?

Games › 4 Player Local › 4 Player Local + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror 4 Player Local game?

4 Player Local + Horror

Of 24 developers who shipped a Horror 4 Player Local 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.. 32 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $200; 1 in 20 cleared $620k, ×1324 the market median. Revenue is up 105% on the market; 32 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 105% on the market, 32 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
4 Player Local + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.6k → $10k → $11k → $898 → $4.7k → $10k (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 4 Player Local + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $200 (exactly $200)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,350)
Top 25% $4.9k (exactly $4,940)
Top 5% $629k (exactly $629,085)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 67
Announced 32
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 up 105% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

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

4 Player Local
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Horror
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
4 Player Local; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Online Co-Op
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 13,085 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $200, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $4.9k, 1 in 20 over $620k.

3 in 10 developers made under $200. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

4 Player Local with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Open WorldFair14 devs · median $82k · 20 announced
  2. + Multiple EndingsFair10 devs · median $3.6k · 10 announced
  3. + SimulationFair69 devs · median $2.1k · 86 announced
  4. + Immersive SimFair11 devs · median $2.1k · 15 announced
  5. + CatsFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 16 announced
  6. + RhythmFair10 devs · median $539 · 10 announced
  7. + ManagementPoor odds11 devs · median $22k · 37 announced
  8. + Football (Soccer)Poor odds14 devs · median $15k · 27 announced
  9. + Beat 'em upPoor odds30 devs · median $8.7k · 67 announced
  10. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds15 devs · median $8.5k · 19 announced
  11. + TriviaPoor odds9 devs · median $7.2k · 9 announced
  12. + MinigamesPoor odds12 devs · median $7.2k · 28 announced

All 109 pairs on the 4 Player Local page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Distance 2018 · $4.4M Crawl 2017 · $2.5M Zort 2024 · EA · $1.4M PICO PARK 2 2024 · $1.1M Ben and Ed - Blood Party 2018 · $1.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Distance older $24.99 5,832 93% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) Refract
Crawl older $14.99 5,625 95% 169k $2.5M (exactly $2,529,562) Powerhoof
Zort · EA $4.00 11,738 90% 352k $1.4M (exactly $1,408,560) Londer Software
PICO PARK 2 older $8.99 4,045 88% 121k $1.1M (exactly $1,090,936) TECOPARK, Gemdrops, Inc.
Ben and Ed - Blood Party older $14.99 2,297 88% 69k $1.0M (exactly $1,032,961) Sluggerfly
Charlie Murder older $9.99 2,618 96% 79k $785k (exactly $784,615) Ska Studios
HexBreaker Ⅱ $19.99 1,049 64% 31k $629k (exactly $629,085) 灵煦工作室
Sign of Silence older $4.99 1,787 52% 54k $268k (exactly $267,514) Renderise
Nation Red older $2.99 2,208 88% 66k $198k (exactly $198,058) DiezelPower
Shadowgrounds Survivor older $9.99 583 62% 17k $175k (exactly $174,725) Frozenbyte
INTO EVIL · EA $14.99 106 92% 3.2k $48k (exactly $47,668) Mind's Eye Games
Ritual Party · EA $11.99 28 89% 840 $10k (exactly $10,072) Hologram Monster
Horror Royale $5.99 56 66% 1.7k $10k (exactly $10,063) Ben Wade
Anomaly Protocol · EA $4.99 33 72% 990 $4.9k (exactly $4,940) Oriland
Lastbane · EA $3.99 39 25% 1.2k $4.7k (exactly $4,668) Lionstone Studio
The Boo Croo · EA $14.99 6 66% 180 $2.7k (exactly $2,698) Synodic Arc
Toy Scrappers $4.99 18 77% 540 $2.7k (exactly $2,695) LoudScream
MADHOUSE · EA $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Paul Hubans

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