Do I ship it?

Games › Social Deduction › Social Deduction + Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Horror Social Deduction game?

Social Deduction + Horror

Of 22 developers who shipped a Horror Social Deduction 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $10k, ×7.0 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $530k, ×360 the market median. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 35 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 35 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Social Deduction + Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $123k → $9.0k (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Social Deduction + Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $10k (exactly $10,479)
Top 25% $104k (exactly $104,313)
Top 5% $539k (exactly $539,460)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 44
Announced 35
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 20% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Social Deduction
effort 7 / 10 · low · online lobbies, voice or chat, live player base
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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Social Deduction; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry PvP, Online Co-Op, Survival Horror
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 14,236 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $10k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $530k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Social Deduction with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SurvivalFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  2. + PsychologicalFair25 devs · median $4.8k · 34 announced
  3. + SimulationFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 25 announced
  4. + PuzzleLong shot15 devs · median $899 · 22 announced
  5. + Board GameLong shot13 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  6. + Survival HorrorPoor odds14 devs · median $18k · 17 announced
  7. + AdventurePoor odds16 devs · median $6.6k · 23 announced
  8. + Character CustomizationPoor odds15 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + PvPPoor odds77 devs · median $2.2k · 134 announced
  10. + RPGPoor odds15 devs · median $2.2k · 25 announced
  11. + ActionPoor odds46 devs · median $1.7k · 81 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds61 devs · median $1.5k · 102 announced

All 21 pairs on the Social Deduction page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

In Silence 2021 · $2.8M MIMESIS 2025 · EA · $2.5M The Jackbox Party Pack 6 2019 · $2.1M Among Us 3D: VR 2022 · $734k Oh Deer 2024 · $637k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
In Silence older $9.99 9,450 75% 284k $2.8M (exactly $2,832,165) Ravenhood Games
MIMESIS · EA $9.99 8,396 84% 252k $2.5M (exactly $2,516,281) ReLU Games, Inc.
The Jackbox Party Pack 6 older $29.99 2,343 95% 70k $2.1M (exactly $2,107,997) Jackbox Games, Inc.
Among Us 3D: VR older $9.99 2,449 75% 73k $734k (exactly $733,965) Schell Games, Innersloth, Robot Teddy
Oh Deer older $9.99 2,125 84% 64k $637k (exactly $636,862) Cozy Cabin Studios
Sinister Night 2 $9.99 1,800 86% 54k $539k (exactly $539,460) Bug Inventors
Scam Line · EA $6.99 1,088 84% 33k $228k (exactly $228,154) RavenJm
It Has My Face $9.99 608 88% 18k $182k (exactly $182,218) NightByte Games
The Ship: Remasted older $9.99 462 58% 14k $138k (exactly $138,461) Blazing Griffin
BACKROOMS: APPREHENSION $2.99 1,371 83% 41k $123k (exactly $122,979) DMNT Interactive
MISTERY $11.99 290 64% 8.7k $104k (exactly $104,313) Game Frontier
Cursed Companions $8.99 345 79% 10k $93k (exactly $93,046) Crimson Forge Studios
Cut That Wire $6.99 243 84% 7.3k $51k (exactly $50,957) WakaStudio
DreadHaunt $19.99 39 64% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Digital Happiness
Werewolf Party $7.99 56 89% 1.7k $13k (exactly $13,423) Absam Studios

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