Games › Idler › Idler + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Idler?
Idler + Horror
Of 73 developers who shipped a Horror Idler 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.. 80 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×5.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×469 the market median. Revenue is up 120% on the market; 80 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $598 (exactly $598) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.5k (exactly $2,545) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $14,142) |
| Top 5% | $223k (exactly $222,741) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 73 |
| Released games | 174 |
| Announced | 80 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 120% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Idler; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Incremental, Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, 2D, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 19,825 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 50 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Idler with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + FarmingStrong odds
- + Hack and SlashFair
- + DrivingFair
- + LootFair
- + FPSFair
- + Turn-Based CombatFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + Dynamic NarrationFair
- + Dark FantasyFair
- + CapitalismFair
- + SwordplayFair
Comparable games
Cookie Clicker 2021 · $13M 
Berry Bury Berry 2026 · $2.1M 
Horripilant 2026 · $702k 
Sixty Four 2024 · $288k 
Tingus Goose 2025 · $257k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cookie Clicker | older | $4.99 | 87,916 96% | 2.6M | $13M (exactly $13,161,025) | Orteil, DashNet |
| | Berry Bury Berry | $7.99 | 8,619 98% | 259k | $2.1M (exactly $2,065,974) | Get(Color) Games | |
| | Horripilant | $7.99 | 2,928 92% | 88k | $702k (exactly $701,842) | Alexandre Declos , Pas Game Studio | |
| | Sixty Four | older | $5.99 | 1,604 73% | 48k | $288k (exactly $288,239) | Oleg Danilov |
| | Tingus Goose | $6.99 | 1,224 89% | 37k | $257k (exactly $256,673) | SweatyChair | |
 | SchoolBoy Runaway | $1.99 | 3,731 90% | 112k | $223k (exactly $222,741) | Linked Squad | |
 | Paper Bride 5 Two Lifetimes | older | $9.99 | 606 84% | 18k | $182k (exactly $181,618) | HeartBeat Plus |
 | RUSSIAPHOBIA | older | $0.99 | 5,589 69% | 168k | $166k (exactly $165,993) | European Flameworms |
 | I'm on Observation Duty 7 | $11.99 | 426 93% | 13k | $153k (exactly $153,232) | Notovia, Dreamloop Games | |
 | Feed the Reactor | $6.99 | 658 82% | 20k | $138k (exactly $137,983) | Adam Travers | |
 | Execute | $5.99 | 679 91% | 20k | $122k (exactly $122,016) | Payne Robinson | |
 | Paper Bride 6 Nightmare | $9.99 | 369 81% | 11k | $111k (exactly $110,589) | HeartBeat Plus | |
 | Alice's Gaze | $3.99 | 770 91% | 23k | $92k (exactly $92,169) | Starmoon Cat | |
 | Fishing The Abyss | $6.99 | 421 95% | 13k | $88k (exactly $88,284) | umaaaaaa studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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