Do I ship it?

GamesResource ManagementResource Management + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Horror

Of 191 developers who shipped a Horror Resource Management 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.. 369 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.4 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $240k, ×523 the market median. Revenue is up 225% on the market; 369 games are announced against 122 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 225% on the market, 369 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 191
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.8k → $1.4k → $4.5k → $900 → $1.8k → $1.1k → $2.4k (still earning) → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 191
Bottom 30% $360 (exactly $360)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,617)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $21,180)
Top 5% $248k (exactly $248,462)
Developers, 2 yr 191
Released games 360
Announced 369
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.49

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 225% on the market, supply 75% 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.

Resource Management
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
Resource Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Survival Horror, Exploration, Adventure
Price point
$6.49 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Dark, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $6.49.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 41,910 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $240k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 78 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 369 games are announced against 122 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Resident Evil 4 older $39.99 186,701 97% 5.6M $224M (exactly $223,985,190) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Cronos: The New Dawn $59.99 7,753 87% 233k $14M (exactly $13,953,074) Bloober Team
Cookie Clicker older $4.99 87,916 96% 2.6M $13M (exactly $13,161,025) Orteil, DashNet
Five Nights at Freddy's older $4.99 53,607 94% 1.6M $8.0M (exactly $8,024,968) Scott Cawthon
Amnesia: The Bunker older $24.99 10,349 93% 310k $7.8M (exactly $7,758,645) Frictional Games
CloverPit $9.99 24,710 90% 741k $7.4M (exactly $7,405,587) Panik Arcade
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 older $7.99 23,871 93% 716k $5.7M (exactly $5,721,879) Scott Cawthon
The Final Station older $14.99 6,739 88% 202k $3.0M (exactly $3,030,528) DO MY BEST
Sheltered older $14.99 5,366 81% 161k $2.4M (exactly $2,413,090) Unicube, Team 17 Digital Ltd
My Friendly Neighborhood older $29.99 2,485 96% 75k $2.2M (exactly $2,235,754) John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
DarkSwitch $34.99 714 77% 21k $749k (exactly $749,486) Cyber Temple
Horripilant $7.99 2,928 92% 88k $702k (exactly $701,842) Alexandre Declos , Pas Game Studio
Darkwater $9.99 989 77% 30k $296k (exactly $296,403) Targon Studios
Photomaly $6.99 1,292 89% 39k $271k (exactly $270,932) Revira Interactive
Iron Blight $12.49 700 93% 21k $262k (exactly $262,290) Ronesans Interactive
NO-SKIN $6.99 1,227 95% 37k $257k (exactly $257,302) NoEye-Soft
Backrooms Lost Runners · EA $13.99 592 75% 18k $248k (exactly $248,462) ShimStudioGames

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