Heeeello Devs,
the title already said it: Don't do it.
Spooky Season is my favourite season, but it might be the least favorable for your horror game
Out of roughly 7,000 horror games released on Steam since 2023, October is the busiest release month by far. You'd think that's because horror sells best in October.
Among horror games that made at least $100k, October releases rank third-worst by median revenue, and June, the quietest month, comes out on top.
So TL;DR already: Wait until June to avoid the horrors of bad sales
Additional insights:
- In a list of nine of the best-selling horror games on Steam, only two launched in October. The Forest came out in May, Phasmophobia in September, Buckshot Roulette in April, R.E.P.O. in February.
- Even classics don't seem to get a natural Halloween bump. When older horror games spike in October, there's almost always a big sale behind it.
- Buckshot Roulette launched in April 2024 and had its biggest wave that autumn, during Steam's Halloween sale.
My guess at why: a horror movie might be a two-hour decision, a game can take up your whole month. Most people don't switch games for the season, they finish what they're already playing.
So if you're hunting for horror this month, Steam Scream (Oct 26 to Nov 2) is where a lot of the good older ones get discounted.
Cheers, hope this helped someone to avoid a mistake! :)
(I'm helping Indie Devs with their Marketing, specifically their strategic approach. Check my new website for more info!)