Games › Strategy RPG › Strategy RPG + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Strategy RPG?
Strategy RPG + Horror
Of 49 developers who shipped a Horror Strategy RPG 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.. 87 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×249 the market median. Revenue is up 740% on the market; 87 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) |
| Top 25% | $8.6k (exactly $8,630) |
| Top 5% | $156k (exactly $156,382) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 49 |
| Released games | 124 |
| Announced | 87 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 740% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Strategy RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Horror
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy RPG; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Strategy, Adventure
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 3,892 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 87 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Strategy RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SportsFair
- + SwordplayFair
- + Bullet HellFair
- + EconomyFair
- + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair
- + ConspiracyFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Turn-BasedPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + 4XPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Breakout 13 | older | $9.99 | 6,899 87% | 207k | $2.1M (exactly $2,067,630) | ALT Lab |
| | Sheltered 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,015 45% | 60k | $1.2M (exactly $1,208,396) | Unicube |
| | Obenseuer | · EA older | $19.99 | 1,684 94% | 51k | $1.0M (exactly $1,009,895) | Loiste Interactive |
| | Sinister Night 2 | $9.99 | 1,800 86% | 54k | $539k (exactly $539,460) | Bug Inventors | |
| | The Shrouded Isle | older | $12.99 | 1,166 71% | 35k | $454k (exactly $454,390) | Jongwoo Kim, Erica Lahaie, FX Bilodeau,… (Jongwoo Kim, Erica Lahaie, FX Bilodeau, Tanya Short) |
| | 消失的航班,还有她她她!Lost in the secret! | $19.99 | 602 89% | 18k | $361k (exactly $361,019) | Humongous Pictures | |
| | The Fabulous Fear Machine | older | $17.99 | 542 89% | 16k | $293k (exactly $292,517) | Fictiorama Studios |
| | Stirring Abyss | older | $24.99 | 334 88% | 10k | $250k (exactly $250,400) | Sleepy Sentry, K-Project |
| | Paper Bride 5 Two Lifetimes | older | $9.99 | 606 84% | 18k | $182k (exactly $181,618) | HeartBeat Plus |
| | Brigand: Oaxaca | older | $9.99 | 551 94% | 17k | $165k (exactly $165,135) | Brian J. Lancaster, Laughing Coyote Sof… (Brian J. Lancaster, Laughing Coyote Software) |
| | Winnie's Hole | · EA | $15.99 | 326 94% | 9.8k | $156k (exactly $156,382) | Twice Different |
| | Nightmare Frontier | $24.99 | 187 69% | 5.6k | $140k (exactly $140,194) | Ice Code Games | |
| | Paper Bride 6 Nightmare | $9.99 | 369 81% | 11k | $111k (exactly $110,589) | HeartBeat Plus | |
| | Jupiter Hell Classic | · EA | $14.99 | 230 95% | 6.9k | $103k (exactly $103,431) | ChaosForge |
| | Exorcism Agency | $12.99 | 222 91% | 6.7k | $87k (exactly $86,513) | YINGGUO GAME | |
| | Revelatio | $10.99 | 86 91% | 2.6k | $28k (exactly $28,354) | Guild Studio | |
| | AnnaRedux | $19.99 | 29 79% | 870 | $17k (exactly $17,391) | 那什么游戏制作日记 | |
| | Winter Clothing | $9.99 | 41 75% | 1.2k | $12k (exactly $12,288) | 坤舆科技 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.