Games › Combat › Combat + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Combat game?
Combat + Horror
Of 474 developers who shipped a Horror Combat 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.. 941 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $650k, ×1048 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 941 games are announced against 258 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,241) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $11,870) |
| Top 5% | $658k (exactly $657,911) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 474 |
| Released games | 1,162 |
| Announced | 941 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 85% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Combat; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Shooter
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 76% positive over 135,674 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 245 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 941 games are announced against 258 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Combat with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Real-Time with PauseStrong odds
- + 4XFair
- + TypingFair
- + VampiresFair
- + SnowFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Match 3Long shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Political SimPoor odds
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Ready or Not 2023 · $398M 
Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition 2022 · $297M 
Deep Rock Galactic 2020 · $273M 
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide 2022 · $130M 
Dead Space 2023 · $113M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ready or Not | older | $49.99 | 265,219 79% | 8.0M | $398M (exactly $397,748,934) | VOID Interactive |
| | Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition | older | $59.99 | 164,914 79% | 4.9M | $297M (exactly $296,795,726) | Techland |
| | Deep Rock Galactic | older | $29.99 | 303,142 97% | 9.1M | $273M (exactly $272,736,857) | Ghost Ship Games |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Darktide | older | $39.99 | 108,477 72% | 3.3M | $130M (exactly $130,139,857) | Fatshark |
| | Dead Space | older | $59.99 | 62,997 90% | 1.9M | $113M (exactly $113,375,701) | Motive |
 | Dying Light: The Beast | $59.99 | 59,318 87% | 1.8M | $107M (exactly $106,754,605) | Techland | |
 | REMNANT II® | older | $49.99 | 46,219 82% | 1.4M | $69M (exactly $69,314,634) | Gunfire Games |
 | Bodycam | · EA older | $33.32 | 60,179 80% | 1.8M | $60M (exactly $60,154,928) | Reissad Studio |
 | DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT | older | $39.99 | 49,837 91% | 1.5M | $60M (exactly $59,789,449) | KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS |
 | SILENT HILL f | $69.99 | 19,061 80% | 572k | $40M (exactly $40,022,382) | NeoBards Entertainment Ltd. | |
 | Killing Floor 3 | $39.99 | 16,493 46% | 495k | $20M (exactly $19,786,652) | Tripwire Interactive | |
 | Cronos: The New Dawn | $59.99 | 7,753 87% | 233k | $14M (exactly $13,953,074) | Bloober Team | |
 | Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core | · EA | $29.99 | 14,049 60% | 421k | $13M (exactly $12,639,885) | Ghost Ship Games |
 | HumanitZ | $19.99 | 11,155 74% | 335k | $6.7M (exactly $6,689,653) | Yodubzz Studios | |
 | Gears of War: Reloaded | $39.99 | 3,950 61% | 119k | $4.7M (exactly $4,738,815) | The Coalition | |
 | The Sinking City 2 | $49.99 | 1,410 83% | 42k | $2.1M (exactly $2,114,577) | Frogwares | |
 | Slitterhead | $49.99 | 1,145 78% | 34k | $1.7M (exactly $1,717,156) | Bokeh Game Studio lnc. | |
 | Alien: Rogue Incursion VR | $39.99 | 1,340 70% | 40k | $1.6M (exactly $1,607,598) | Survios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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