Do I ship it?

Games › Score Attack › Score Attack + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Score Attack game?

Score Attack + Horror

Of 63 developers who shipped a Horror Score Attack 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.. 81 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. 81 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper, while revenue is down 45% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 81 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Score Attack + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 63
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $7.2k → $1.1k → $327 → $599 → $719 → $30 → $300 (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Score Attack + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 63
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,593)
Top 5% $96k (exactly $96,268)
Developers, 2 yr 63
Released games 173
Announced 81
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 down 45% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Score Attack; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, FPS, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 97% positive over 15,490 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $300, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $96k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 28 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Score Attack with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MechsFair23 devs · median $6.2k · 24 announced
  2. + Spectacle fighterFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  3. + DragonsFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  4. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $1.7k · 14 announced
  5. + CookingFair28 devs · median $1.4k · 30 announced
  6. + SuperheroFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 5 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair112 devs · median $1.2k · 104 announced
  8. + GolfFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  9. + GothicFair20 devs · median $959 · 14 announced
  10. + ModernFair53 devs · median $899 · 43 announced
  11. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair14 devs · median $898 · 11 announced
  12. + UndergroundFair23 devs · median $748 · 18 announced

All 200 pairs on the Score Attack page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

White Knuckle 2025 · EA · $6.8M 20 Minutes Till Dawn 2023 · $4.2M The Typing of The Dead: Overkill 2013 · $1.7M Death in the Water 2 2023 · $780k Iron Meat 2024 · $589k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
White Knuckle · EA $16.99 13,356 98% 401k $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) Dark Machine Games
20 Minutes Till Dawn older $4.99 27,872 90% 836k $4.2M (exactly $4,172,438) flanne
The Typing of The Dead: Overkill older $19.99 2,782 87% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,668,365) Modern Dream
Death in the Water 2 older $14.99 1,734 83% 52k $780k (exactly $779,780) Lighthouse Games Studio
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
DEMON'S TILT older $19.99 962 94% 29k $577k (exactly $576,911) WIZNWAR, FLARB LLC
HELLBREAK $14.99 275 76% 8.3k $124k (exactly $123,668) Double Barrel Games
Metal: Hellsinger VR $29.99 107 68% 3.2k $96k (exactly $96,268) Lab42, The Outsiders
BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites older $19.99 129 60% 3.9k $77k (exactly $77,361) WayForward
Kizuna AI - Touch the Beat! older $34.99 65 86% 2.0k $68k (exactly $68,230) Gemdrops, Inc.
Jeffrey Eggstein · EA $4.99 290 94% 8.7k $43k (exactly $43,413) Grabba Guild Games LLC
Deckline $3.99 294 86% 8.8k $35k (exactly $35,192) Room Games, KREIDPIX
SHINONOME ABYSS The Maiden Exorcist $14.99 56 78% 1.7k $25k (exactly $25,183) WODAN,Inc.
HoloType: Treasure Zombie Island $8.99 50 88% 1.5k $13k (exactly $13,485) BeXide Inc.
Castle of Shikigami 3 $29.99 14 85% 420 $13k (exactly $12,596) Cosmo Machia, Alfa System
Shoyu Ramen Forever $4.99 66 89% 2.0k $9.9k (exactly $9,880) POCKET HORROR BOX

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