Games › Life Sim › Life Sim + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Life Sim?
Life Sim + Horror
Of 116 developers who shipped a Horror Life Sim 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.. 148 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×570 the market median. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 148 games are announced against 68 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
| Top 25% | $16k (exactly $16,018) |
| Top 5% | $271k (exactly $270,932) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 116 |
| Released games | 242 |
| Announced | 148 |
| 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 65% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Life Sim; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Adventure, Immersive Sim
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 3D, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 96% positive over 133,859 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 7 in 10 of the 59 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 148 games are announced against 68 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + FaithFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + ZombiesFair
Comparable games
MiSide 2024 · $55M 
Chinese Parents 2018 · $6.9M 
60 Seconds! Reatomized 2019 · $5.5M 
Obenseuer 2018 · EA · $1.0M 
HELLMART 2026 · $465k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | MiSide | $14.99 | 122,007 97% | 3.7M | $55M (exactly $54,866,548) | AIHASTO | |
| | Chinese Parents | older | $9.99 | 23,168 91% | 695k | $6.9M (exactly $6,943,450) | 墨鱼玩游戏 |
| | 60 Seconds! Reatomized | older | $9.99 | 18,362 94% | 551k | $5.5M (exactly $5,503,091) | Robot Gentleman |
| | Obenseuer | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,684 94% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) | Loiste Interactive |
| | HELLMART | $14.99 | 1,034 77% | 31k | $465k (exactly $464,990) | GAZE IN GAMES | |
 | Static Dread: The Lighthouse | $10.90 | 1,394 90% | 42k | $456k (exactly $455,838) | solarsuit.games | |
 | Always Sometimes Monsters | older | $9.99 | 1,387 79% | 42k | $416k (exactly $415,684) | Vagabond Dog |
 | Sunken Engine | $14.99 | 814 80% | 24k | $366k (exactly $366,056) | Two Nomads Studio | |
 | Hentai Femdom Sim: Femdom University | older | $34.99 | 348 79% | 10k | $365k (exactly $365,296) | SaliaCoel |
 | ORDER 13 | $8.99 | 1,224 87% | 37k | $330k (exactly $330,113) | Cybernetic Walrus | |
 | Photomaly | $6.99 | 1,292 89% | 39k | $271k (exactly $270,932) | Revira Interactive | |
 | SchoolBoy Runaway | $1.99 | 3,731 90% | 112k | $223k (exactly $222,741) | Linked Squad | |
 | Escape from Yandere | $4.99 | 1,335 75% | 40k | $200k (exactly $199,850) | VorhGames | |
 | Apocalypse with Femboy | $12.99 | 439 89% | 13k | $171k (exactly $171,078) | Pout Honey | |
 | Brno Transit | $8.99 | 589 85% | 18k | $159k (exactly $158,853) | Spytihněv |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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