Do I ship it?

GamesLocal MultiplayerLocal Multiplayer + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Local Multiplayer game?

Local Multiplayer + Horror

Of 48 developers who shipped a Horror Local Multiplayer 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.. 56 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 $2.4k, ×5.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $640k, ×1362 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 56 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 56 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Local Multiplayer + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 48
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.0k → $2.1k → $3.8k → $4.0k → $10k → $4.0k → $900 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Local Multiplayer + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 48
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,397)
Top 25% $35k (exactly $34,765)
Top 5% $647k (exactly $646,884)
Developers, 2 yr 48
Released games 169
Announced 56
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 25% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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.

Local Multiplayer
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Local Multiplayer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Co-Op, Co-op
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Dark, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 20,839 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $34k, 1 in 20 over $640k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 7 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 56 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + HockeyStrong odds11 devs · median $3.0k · 12 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair61 devs · median $5.8k · 64 announced
  3. + Action RPGFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  4. + Hex GridFair12 devs · median $4.5k · 14 announced
  5. + ModernFair24 devs · median $3.6k · 16 announced
  6. + WargameFair28 devs · median $3.0k · 28 announced
  7. + TennisFair18 devs · median $2.3k · 10 announced
  8. + Point & ClickFair14 devs · median $2.0k · 8 announced
  9. + Artificial IntelligenceFair26 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  10. + Football (American)Fair13 devs · median $1.8k · 4 announced
  11. + SportsFair196 devs · median $1.6k · 208 announced
  12. + RunnerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced

All 174 pairs on the Local Multiplayer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Mortal Kombat 11 older $49.99 87,021 88% 2.6M $131M (exactly $130,505,394) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC, Shiver
Mortal Kombat 1 older $49.99 34,197 74% 1.0M $51M (exactly $51,285,241) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC
Mortal Kombat X older $19.99 39,392 88% 1.2M $24M (exactly $23,623,382) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC
REANIMAL $39.99 13,809 78% 414k $17M (exactly $16,566,657) Tarsier Studios
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan older $19.99 9,244 76% 277k $5.5M (exactly $5,543,627) Supermassive Games
Catherine Classic older $19.99 8,858 88% 266k $5.3M (exactly $5,312,143) ATLUS
Gears of War: Reloaded $39.99 3,950 61% 119k $4.7M (exactly $4,738,815) The Coalition
GORN older $19.99 7,449 94% 223k $4.5M (exactly $4,467,165) Free Lives
Distance older $24.99 5,832 93% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) Refract
PICO PARK older $4.99 23,751 91% 713k $3.6M (exactly $3,555,525) TECOPARK
Blood: Refreshed Supply™ $29.99 719 71% 22k $647k (exactly $646,884) Nightdive Studios, Monolith Productions
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2: Remake $24.99 607 44% 18k $455k (exactly $455,068) MegaPixel Studio S. A.
THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION $24.99 148 51% 4.4k $111k (exactly $110,956) LuLuDu Tech Co. Ltd.
Terrordrome - Reign of the Legends $19.99 168 72% 5.0k $101k (exactly $100,750) Huracan Studio
Escape From Mandrillia: Local Asymmetric VR+PC $12.99 181 95% 5.4k $71k (exactly $70,536) German Bandera
Stuck Together $11.99 161 88% 4.8k $58k (exactly $57,912) Hugecalf Studios
MeowGun: Hell Denizen $12.99 114 98% 3.4k $44k (exactly $44,426) SusaDeBastet

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