Do I ship it?

GamesDestructionDestruction + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Destruction game?

Destruction + Horror

Of 32 developers who shipped a Horror Destruction 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.. 50 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $47k, ×76 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 50 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 50 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Destruction + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $60k → $29k → $104k → $29k → $12k → $1.2k → $3.0k (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Destruction + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $13,941)
Top 5% $48k (exactly $47,981)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 100
Announced 50
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 75% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Destruction
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Destruction; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 9,060 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $47k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Destruction with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Space SimFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 22 announced
  2. + ModernFair26 devs · median $1.6k · 28 announced
  3. + God GameFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair9 devs · median $719 · 14 announced
  5. + Hack and SlashPoor odds19 devs · median $43k · 57 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds15 devs · median $26k · 22 announced
  7. + CapitalismPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 46 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds37 devs · median $13k · 102 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds50 devs · median $11k · 113 announced
  10. + Automobile SimPoor odds22 devs · median $9.0k · 44 announced
  11. + ManagementPoor odds36 devs · median $6.1k · 129 announced
  12. + AutomationPoor odds22 devs · median $6.0k · 46 announced

All 139 pairs on the Destruction page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
People Playground older $9.99 298,158 98% 8.9M $89M (exactly $89,357,953) mestiez
Trepang2 older $39.99 15,774 93% 473k $19M (exactly $18,924,068) Trepang Studios
Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance older $39.99 3,395 82% 102k $4.1M (exactly $4,072,982) Slitherine Ltd.
The Headliners $7.99 8,534 86% 256k $2.0M (exactly $2,045,600) KAFI
Kill It With Fire older $12.99 4,036 95% 121k $1.6M (exactly $1,572,829) Casey Donnellan Games LLC
Red Faction®: Armageddon™ older $19.99 2,615 70% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,568,215) Volition
Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered older $24.99 2,069 90% 62k $1.6M (exactly $1,551,129) Saber Interactive
FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction older $9.99 3,672 17% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,100,498) Team 6 Studios
Storm Chasers · EA older $12.99 2,763 89% 83k $1.1M (exactly $1,076,741) Little Cloud Games
Gori: Cuddly Carnage older $21.99 1,434 96% 43k $946k (exactly $946,010) Angry Demon Studio
Munch $16.66 96 60% 2.9k $48k (exactly $47,981) Mac n Cheese Games
Sera's Adventure -Cave of Destruction- $18.99 76 53% 2.3k $43k (exactly $43,297) 渡里laboratory
Project Absentia $19.99 71 95% 2.1k $43k (exactly $42,579) Waffle Iron Studios
The Strange City $14.99 65 47% 2.0k $29k (exactly $29,230) Newmatic Co., Ltd.
Salvage Protocol $7.99 66 100% 2.0k $16k (exactly $15,820) IAmDirt, Dicedbasilisk
Drywall Eating Simulator $9.99 50 76% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) Peripheral Playbox
Vindefiant $14.99 31 80% 930 $14k (exactly $13,941) Blakey Games
Castle of Vania $10.99 35 48% 1.1k $12k (exactly $11,540) Succubus Factory
Hail the Devourer $4.99 36 66% 1.1k $5.4k (exactly $5,389) Anchorhead Games

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