How to Market a Horror Game

Short answer: horror is one of the strongest genres in short-form video, because a scare is instant and a reaction is shareable. Lead with tension, not lore. Pick creators from horror, comedy and adjacent niches, and let the creator's reaction carry the clip. Horror flavored campaigns on Trapster landed at $0.18 to $0.22 per wishlist.

Horror trailers tend to be slow: atmosphere, a long build up, a title card. That works on a store page. In a feed, the viewer has two seconds, and the build up is where they scroll away.

How have horror campaigns performed?

Game	What it is	Result
Anomaly Control Simulator	SCP inspired sim: examine dangerous artifacts, one wrong call ends the world	21,500 wishlists from a standing start, $0.18 each
ZOMBUTCHER	Dark humor: run a butcher shop by day, hunt by night	+7,400 in 3 days, $0.22 each
Huntin' Buddies	Four player co-op horror comedy	44 videos in launch week, 3.59% like rate, 42 Steam reviews at 88% positive

Outside our own data, horror also travels well on X. In Chris Zukowski's analysis of Indie Game Joe's posts, horror clips like Perceptum and DREADMOOR reached around 1.2 to 1.5 million views each. Not every horror post lands, though. Some in the same data stayed around 11,000 views. The hook decides it.

What scares well in a short clip?

• Start in the tension, not before it. The first second should already feel wrong: a sound, a shadow, a creature in the corner.
• One scare per clip. A single jump scare or reveal, then the reaction.
• The reaction is half the video. Viewers watch the creator jump. That's what they share.
• Use the premise as the hook. Anomaly Control Simulator's "one wrong call ends the world" made a slow, decision driven sim easy to sell in short form.

Horror comedy is easier than you think

A lot of the best horror content online is funny. ZOMBUTCHER's brief gave creators three angles: the double life premise, the day and night tone flip, and the stealth and shadow mechanics. Huntin' Buddies is a co-op horror comedy built for groups of friends. If your game has any absurd moment, give creators permission to play it for laughs. Scary and funny together is very shareable.

Which creators fit a horror game?

Not only horror channels. Anomaly Control Simulator drew creators from horror, simulation and SCP adjacent niches. ZOMBUTCHER went to simulation, horror comedy and stealth creators. Think about who enjoys your game's specific flavor: creepy lore fans, jump scare reactors, co-op comedy groups.

When should you run it?

Around a moment players can act on: a demo, Steam Next Fest, a discount or the launch. Huntin' Buddies scheduled its posts to land on the release date instead of spreading them across the month, and built a solid review base in launch week. October is also a natural moment for horror, when players are actively looking for something scary to play. See our launch week guide and Next Fest guide.

FAQ

Is horror a good genre for creator marketing?
Yes. Scares and reactions are made for short-form video. Our horror flavored campaigns landed at $0.18 to $0.22 per wishlist.

Should the clip explain the story?
No. One line at most. Let the creator show the scariest or strangest moment first.

Does horror comedy work as well as pure horror?
Often better in short form, because it's easier to share. ZOMBUTCHER and Huntin' Buddies both leaned into humor.

What's the minimum budget on Trapster?
$3,000 per campaign. See how much game influencer marketing costs.

Let creators scare people for you

Send us your Steam page and tell us your scariest moment. We'll send back a free forecast for views, creators and wishlists. See Trapster for studios or book a call.

Sources: How To Market A Game, 2026 tips for making your tweets go viral (Indie Game Joe's view data). Campaign figures come from Trapster case studies. Cost per wishlist is the creator budget divided by wishlists added, platform fee excluded.