Horror Tycoon

Horror· Strategy· Base Building· Tower Defense

Early access since Oct 2022

Scare, terrify and thrill guests as you build the haunted house of your nightmares. Design and customize your creations with incredible detail to scare your guests, or risk losing it all in this tower defense/management/tycoon hybrid.

61% positive · 119 reviews

Not yet

In early access, content still planned

High confidence

Content Planned

Not yet

In early access, content still planned

High confidence

Content Planned

Where to buy

Steam Updated 9 Oct 2026 $14.99

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Evaluation

Horror Tycoon entered Steam Early Access on October 20, 2022 and remains in that state. The solo developer (Casey, operating as Smidge Games LLC) has maintained steady communication and a consistent update cadence throughout development. Since launch, the game has received multiple major updates: Major Update One (March 31, 2023), Major Update Two (September 29, 2023), a substantial Management Update (October 29, 2024) that overhauled gameplay balance and added power management, breakdown mechanics, and first-person scaring, and a Fall Update (September 10, 2025) adding pre-fab rooms, a new in-game manual, and quality-of-life improvements. In the September 10, 2025 developer post — the most recent communication as of today's date of October 1, 2026 — Casey explicitly stated: "I'm not done adding new content! You can still expect: New scare traps, New props & building items, Revisited versions of a few existing items I'm not fully satisfied with." Several features introduced in the October 2024 update (Soul Meter ultimate abilities, Fear Meter) were still flagged as works-in-progress in September 2025, and the in-game Owner's Manual was noted as still unfinished. The eventual 1.0 release has been referenced across multiple posts as the end goal, but no date has been set. The developer's last communication was on September 10, 2025 — approximately 12 months ago. Historically, major updates have arrived every 6–12 months, so while the silence is approaching the outer edge of that window, it does not yet clearly exceed it. No distress signals (studio closure, lost funding) have been issued, and the prior publisher split in November 2023 was explicitly resolved with no impact on development. Overall, the developer remains credibly engaged and has explicitly promised future content.

Evidence

Developer explicitly states 'I'm not done adding new content' and lists upcoming additions: new scare traps, new props and building items, and revisited existing items. Also notes several systems (Soul Meter ultimate abilities, in-game manual) remain works-in-progress.

news post · Sep 10, 2025 source content planned

high

Major Management Update ships, overhauling gameplay balance. Fear Meter and Soul Meter ultimate abilities introduced but explicitly flagged as works-in-progress, indicating further development is needed.

news post · Oct 29, 2024 source content planned

high

Media

Details

Developer

Smidge Games LLC

Publisher

Smidge Games LLC

Achievements

Platform

Windows

Controller

—

Steam Deck

Not rated

Players

Single-player

Horror Base Building Strategy Tower Defense Management Design & Illustration Economy Building Atmospheric Simulation Replay Value Realistic Resource Management Demons Dark

About this game

Scare, terrify and thrill guests as you build the haunted attraction of your nightmares. Build and design elaborate attractions with incredible detail to scare your guests enough to leave before they can reach the exit, or risk losing fear reputation and cash.

BUILD

Build walls, doorways, trap doors, fake walls and more to guide your guests through the haunted attraction maze
Build pre-built hallways and rooms if you are feeling rushed to build or want to experiment with different themes.

CUSTOMIZE

Decorate your haunted attraction with lighting effects, ghostly paintings, spooky props and more.
Pick the colors to best scare your guests

SCARE

Place scare traps along the way from ghosts to aliens and everything in between.
Purchase new attractions with fear reputation, but be careful the more of the same attractions you have and the closer they are to each other may result in a negative affect to your guests and not be as scary.

BE PREPARED

Ensure your attraction is ready for the next wave of guests and then prepare to see if your planning pays off.
Watch the profits roll in and see your fear reputation increase with every wave of visitors.
See how much more your guests will be able to withstand by monitoring the glowsticks they wear around their necks.

BE SINISTER

The further you progress the more you will need to work to scare your guests. Sinister traps are truly the stuff of nightmares as you have the ability to make guests disappear from the living and join the dead.
Don’t get caught or else your career will be over. Be sure to hire the best security and lawyers you can afford to keep investigations away from your haunted attraction.

Once you have earned enough scare reputation you will be able to progress and move to a new location and face unique challenges in a different part of town.