Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Level Editor game?

Level Editor + Horror

Only 16 developers shipped a Horror Level Editor game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Everhood 2, made about 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 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.3k, ×3.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2108 the market median. Revenue is down 45% on the market; 32 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 32 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $46k → $5.4k → $49k → $2.1k → $719 (still earning) → $3.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $2.3k (exactly $2,307)
Top 25% $49k (exactly $48,851)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,323,538)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 58
Announced 32
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 down 45% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Level Editor; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Realistic, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 4,455 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.3k, 1 in 4 over $48k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 6 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

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

  1. + Multiple EndingsFair17 devs · median $8.1k · 23 announced
  2. + Hidden ObjectFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $3.4k · 17 announced
  4. + Time AttackFair12 devs · median $748 · 14 announced
  5. + IdlerFair19 devs · median $719 · 12 announced
  6. + Score AttackFair51 devs · median $598 · 62 announced
  7. + AutomationLong shot27 devs · median $300 · 32 announced
  8. + TransportationPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  9. + TrainsPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 11 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds22 devs · median $43k · 46 announced
  11. + City BuilderPoor odds20 devs · median $24k · 50 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds36 devs · median $19k · 111 announced

All 136 pairs on the Level Editor page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

DUSK 2018 · $13M Distance 2018 · $4.4M Prodeus 2022 · $4.1M Contagion 2013 · $3.0M Everhood 2 2025 · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DUSK older $19.99 22,073 97% 662k $13M (exactly $13,237,178) David Szymanski
Distance older $24.99 5,832 93% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) Refract
Prodeus older $24.99 5,505 92% 165k $4.1M (exactly $4,127,098) Bounding Box Software Inc.
Contagion older $9.99 10,042 75% 301k $3.0M (exactly $3,009,587) Monochrome, Inc
Everhood 2 $19.99 2,207 74% 66k $1.3M (exactly $1,323,538) Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca
Zombie Night Terror older $12.99 3,352 93% 101k $1.3M (exactly $1,306,274) NoClip
Ben and Ed - Blood Party older $14.99 2,297 88% 69k $1.0M (exactly $1,032,961) Sluggerfly
Command & Conquer™ 4 Tiberian Twilight older $6.96 4,832 16% 145k $1.0M (exactly $1,008,922) EA Los Angeles
SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell older $14.99 2,050 95% 62k $922k (exactly $921,885) Pine Studio
Ultimate Arena older $7.99 811 83% 24k $194k (exactly $194,397) Triverske
Backrooms Media $7.99 546 39% 16k $131k (exactly $130,876) NPK Games
Horse Magnifier: The Full Horse $2.99 1,401 99% 42k $126k (exactly $125,670) sketbordcat
LIMSCAPE : THE LIMINAL SPACE EXPLORER $9.99 163 87% 4.9k $49k (exactly $48,851) SMOOTHEA
The Angel's Devil Tail - One More Question 2 $9.99 70 91% 2.1k $21k (exactly $20,979) 橘音
Chickens Don't Fly $9.99 16 100% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Bachware Games
Hollow Hide $4.99 23 95% 690 $3.4k (exactly $3,443) Renderise
AI Asylum $6.99 11 36% 330 $2.3k (exactly $2,307) River Dynamics
ZENOMATRIX $4.99 14 92% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Prpl Moth
A Ragdoll Rage Game $5.99 4 100% 120 $719 (exactly $719) Studioz

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