Do I ship it?

Games › Shop Keeper › Shop Keeper + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Shop Keeper?

Shop Keeper + Horror

Of 32 developers who shipped a Horror Shop Keeper 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.. 55 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $5.1k, ×11 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $1.5k. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 55 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.7 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 55 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shop Keeper + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Shop Keeper + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $1.5k (exactly $1,455)
Median $5.1k (exactly $5,090)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $14,671)
Top 5% $143k (exactly $142,957)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 36
Announced 55
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 1400% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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.

Shop Keeper
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
Shop Keeper; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Management
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 3,353 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $5.1k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 55 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shop Keeper with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds101 devs · median $13k · 122 announced
  2. + Psychological HorrorFair26 devs · median $5.1k · 44 announced
  3. + ModernFair27 devs · median $3.2k · 28 announced
  4. + StrategyFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  5. + LogicFair20 devs · median $1.5k · 27 announced
  6. + IncrementalFair56 devs · median $1.3k · 89 announced
  7. + Strategy RPGFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  8. + NaturePoor odds32 devs · median $31k · 59 announced
  9. + BuildingPoor odds140 devs · median $16k · 209 announced
  10. + Online Co-OpPoor odds44 devs · median $16k · 96 announced
  11. + Co-opPoor odds40 devs · median $13k · 96 announced
  12. + CollectathonPoor odds44 devs · median $12k · 75 announced

All 48 pairs on the Shop Keeper page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Photomaly 2026 · $271k Happy's Humble Burger Cult 2026 · $143k Wasteland Bites 2026 · $132k Retail Hell 2026 · $128k Corner Shop: NightShift 2026 · $124k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Photomaly $6.99 1,292 89% 39k $271k (exactly $270,932) Revira Interactive
Happy's Humble Burger Cult $9.99 477 86% 14k $143k (exactly $142,957) Scythe Dev Team
Wasteland Bites $9.99 440 93% 13k $132k (exactly $131,868) CosmicDev
Retail Hell $7.99 532 95% 16k $128k (exactly $127,520) LEAP Game Studios
Corner Shop: NightShift $19.99 206 84% 6.2k $124k (exactly $123,538) Live Motion Games
Arcadia Cafe $4.99 168 92% 5.0k $25k (exactly $25,150) Judas Brothers, Rassl.me
Conductor: Eternal Service $14.99 34 64% 1.0k $15k (exactly $15,290) Beshbarmak games
Animaly Bar: NO HUMANITY! $4.99 98 90% 2.9k $15k (exactly $14,671) Domnaier
Sushi Simulator $7.99 36 75% 1.1k $8.6k (exactly $8,629) C51 Games
I Fell for Her $3.99 70 85% 2.1k $8.4k (exactly $8,379) arydk

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