Hey! We are now in the “-ber months” which means I get so many questions about horror games. I love horror games. I still think every indie should release at least one horror game (yes 3 years after that blog post it hasn’t changed.)

But the angst I see is mostly about getting their game ready for an October launch. There is an assumption that you MUST launch a horror game in October. It kind of makes sense why…. October = Scary Time. Horror games = Scary. So October = Horror games.

So many developers think they have to release their horror game in October. But is that true? Seems fishy.

I used GameDiscoverCo to download every game that released after January 2023 that had a horror tag in one of the top 5 spots. Then I applied a rolling monthly count to check the last 3 years and counted how many games released in each month. Note it is a rolling 3 years. So January is 2024-2026, October is 2023-2025 (because this article was written in September 2026 so we don’t have any data on October 2026 games).

Overall this data set includes 7,019 horror games. Here is the monthly number of releases for horror.

Tada!

Horror games = October. Right?

But is that the smart thing to do? I also graphed the median estimated revenue (From GameDiscoverCo) along with it.

Why is the median flat? GameDiscoverCo data defaults games that have very few sales to $1000 because the data is so sparse. Over 60% of horror games in that data set hit that $1000 floor. So the median is flat across the months. The takeaway: the median indie game will fail.

So I filtered out "hobbyists" by graphing only games that made at least $100,000 lifetime. Here is that graph:

The interesting thing now is how "non-hobbyist" developers "herd" even harder towards October. BUUUUUT, the revenue distribution couldn't be any more stark. October is the 3rd worst month by revenue for "serious" horror game developers.

Is the secret best month to release a horror game... June? The summer month had the fewest number of releases and the best median revenue?

What? Why? HUUUUUU?

Hot take: people don't buy new horror games in October

The first rule of becoming a professional Steam developer is that you must realize your gut instinct is wrong. Don't trust your gut. The real world is much weirder, and more complicated than your mental model. I mean your gut-model. I mean your gut-mental-model.

For most popular culture, the season affects what art is consumed:

In this blog post a guy tracked how views on YouTube for Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" spike every December

People like Halloween Movies during Halloween. Social media keeps sending me recommendation lists like this one:

So I get it. It makes sense that October = Horror game month.

But the data says that gamers do not follow the same cultural trends. In a 2025 blog post I showed that gamers don't like Christmas games (even in December).

I think it is just that games are so long. A holiday movie is a quick 2 hour commitment that you do on a whim. But to play a game can take up a whole month. Most people don't have the time to change games to match the season. They are just trying to finish their current obsession.

I know, I know, you are going to say "BUUUUT AAAAAAAACTUALLLLLLY I buy lots of horror games during October." Well, you are a game dev sicko that does not represent the general Steam public and also you saying that is an anecdote and not data. So I now have to make a bunch of graphs to show you that otherwise you won't believe me....

A bunch of graphs to show gamers don't play more horror games in October

Let's look at a classic horror game Resident Evil. If ever there is a holiday classic that someone would revisit every Halloween, it would be this one. Do CCU increases correspond to October? Nope!

I highlighted October in Orange:

Couple of key points

• The data is very noisy, it is not a clear slam dunk increase like Mariah Carey during Christmas
• The highest CCU for Resident evil is usually March or July every year. Check it.
• When there is a spike around October there is a sale tied to it. So September 23 - October 6th there was a 75% off sale.
• You might see a spike during October. That is because Capcom typically runs a halloween sale. Here is the link to the one in October 29, 2025 - Capcom Halloween Deals

The big spike from Resident Evil is March 2026. Is that when we should all be launching horror games?

Nope! The best I can tell is March 19th, 2026 when Capcom ran the Resident Evil 30th Anniversary Sale.

But what about content creators!

Some developers countered my claim and say "Well content creators typically do "Halloween Horror" streams where they play a bunch of horror games."

I picked the YouTuber Vargskelethor (or his name is Joel?). He did a 7-days of Spooks Stream last year where he played a bunch of games in a month.

Many of them were not even Steam games such as 90s shareware games (stream link), a Playstation Japanese bootleg LSD: Dream Emulator (stream link) and a Sega Saturn release called Mr. Bones (stream link)

But he did play a lot of Steam and PC games Here are some I found

Game name	Original Release date
Signal Simulator	April 2018
The Darkness	This game never released on Steam PC. But it idd release in June 2007 on consoles.
It Steals	July 2020
The Game of Sisyphus	April 2024
Scavenger SV-4	January 2018
Night Maniac (Demo)	Full game Releasing TODAY
Mouthwashing	September 2024

Notice that he is not playing the "recently released" horror games. He is playing horror games that released in the last 10 years. I couldn't find one of the games he played that actually released in October. They are from every month.

Let's look at Signal Simulator which launched way back in April 2018.

Look at the data:

• First off, the Peak CCU for the game was December 26th (again, maybe secret real horror month).
• There isn't any periodic rise in CCU each October (highlighted in Orange)
• Vargskelethor playing the game on Nov 2, 2025 had absolutely 0 impact on his CCU.

I don't think people watch horror streamers for game recommendations to buy; my qualitative research says that many viewers are too scared to play the games so they watch someone else play it to create an emotional buffer.

But maybe that is because the game is too old.

I picked the most recent game he played, Mouthwashing. The game launched September 27th. and the video came out 1 month later (Oct 27, 2024). Here is the CCU count for the game around October 27, 2024

• It is hard to disentangle how much the content creator helped the launch and how much the Steam algorithm was pushing it. But I could see an argument that launching in to the top.
• Couple of things to note, this game's CCU peak was actually November 17th! Classic period for horror games right at Thanksgiving.
• Second highest peak is December 26th. Maybe Christmas is actually the time for horror games.
• The game does show the traditional slow decay of a Steam tail. But note there is another spike at February 14th. Classic time to join together with your loved ones and play horror games. Maybe we should release horror games in February?!?
• One year later, there is a tiny spike around November 2nd that rises above the noise before dropping down.

This is one example of timing the launch before October could help. However, Mouthwashing was one of the top horror games of the year. This is a risky strategy because so many horror games launch in the October time frame. The chances are low that YOU are making the best game that month. More than likely you will get beat by a big horror game released by a big publisher. Much better to release in a safer month like June when the competition is lower.

Steam promotion

The most likely reason for Mouthwashing's November 2nd spike was that it appeared in the Games Under 5 Hours Festival which ran from October 13–27. The team also ran a 30% off discount from October 22 - November 5th.

The thing that actually drives sales and playtimes is Steam and the Steam algorithms. The one argument I could see for October influencing horror game sales is that there are promotional opportunities around the period. Here is a list of big store promotions in the "spooky period"

• October 5th Haunted House Festival
• October 13th Steam Next Fest October (only unreleased games but many people try to launch after it)
• Valve is willing to give some horror publishers Daily Deals and Franchise Sales during October like this one for Curve Games
• Steam runs a fest for horror games in October
• Humble ran a Horror Icons Showcase from Oct 31-Nov 29, 2025

So yes there are more horror opportunities in October but, as I showed in the number of October releases, the reduced median revenue does not mean you MUST launch your game in October. Instead, these promotional opportunities are a second wind that benefits all horror games whenever they release.

Similarly, 1st party Valve Steam Festivals typically benefit already successful games more. So the real optimal strategy would be: Launch in June with little competition, do well, then do a deep discount and participate in the Steam Scream festival 4 months later.

For instance, let's look at Buckshot Roulette. One of the top horror games of the last 3 years. Here is their CCU.

The game launched in April 2024, did well! But then it discounted 15% for the Steam Scream Sale of 2024 and went viral then. They didn't need to launch in October, the event promoted all horror games. They basically got a bigger and better launch because of the Festival.

Side note: Look at October 2025. There was no seasonal incrase during that time. You would expect one of the top horror games to have a natural "seasonal lift" because gamers "play horror games in October." There is no "organic" Mariah Carey effect for games.

Instead, the drive for horror games comes from Steam. Here is the combined CCU for top 30 horror games from Steam over the last 3 years.

It kinda looks like a Halloween influenced increase with those spikes! But it isn't there is nuance.

• April 2024 is the biggest spike. That is because Content Warning launched then.
• October 28, 2023 big spike! Caused by Phasmophobia (launched September 2020) and The Forest (Full launch April 2018).
• November 2024 was a big spike was caused by Buckshot Roulette (launched April 2024), Phasmophobia, and The Forest.

Note how all those CCU spikes are due to old games getting featuring by Steam during the Halloween Seasonal Sales. It isn't games Launching during Fall, it is Steam doing the pushing.

New Blood Interactive

New Blood is one of the most experienced horror publishers. You would assume they knew the secrets to launching a horror game.

But if you look at their catalog release months, only 16% of their titles are released in October. So follow their lead, don't launch in October.

DreadXP

DreadXP, also a very prolific horror publisher, has historically only published 13.7% of their catalog during October

Don't worry about your launch day

You don't have to launch your game in October. The month does not determine how well your game does. The quality and how exciting your game is what matters. However, if your horror game does well, you can then use the Steam algorithm, sales, festivals, and content creators to promote your game post launch during the Halloween season.

For most games the launch of the game is the period when you will get most of your sales. A hit game does not depend on releasing in October.

Here are the top horror games of the last few years (data via GameDiscoverCo) by units sold and I listed their release month next to it.

Game	Release Month
The Forest	May 2014
Phasmophobia	September 2020
R.E.P.O.	February 2025
Dead by Daylight	June 2016
Dying Light	January 2015
Lethal Company	October 2023
SCP: Secret Laboratory	December 2017
No More Room in Hell	October 2011
Buckshot Roulette	April 2024

Notice how only 2 games launched in October.

So how to pick a release date?

Grab a dart (maybe dipped in blood) throw it at a calendar (preferably an ancient Babylonian calendar etched on lamb's skin) and set your launch to whatever day it lands on. This makes as much sense as trying to outsmart all other indies.

What if you are launching in October?

If you were thinking of launching your horror game next month, don't change it because you read one blog post by me. This blog post is mostly for people who are launching next year or maybe crunching to get it into October.

If you are already dead set to launching in October, first SET YOUR RELEASE DATE in Steamworks. I grabbed the personal calendar from a friend who plays a lot of horror games. Barely any games are scheduled for October (horror or otherwise.) SET YOUR RELEASE DATE HORROR GAMES.

If you have already launched a horror game in the past 2 years, try your hardest to get into some of the Steam promotions and festivals. You definitely should be discounting for Halloween, reaching out to content creators and joining festivals (find them here).

Old horror games are the true winners in October not newly launched ones.