If you’ve been following asymmetrical horror games over the past few years, you’ve probably noticed a pattern. New game launches with big promises, gets decent initial player counts, then gradually fades away until the developers announce they’re ending support after a couple of years. It’s happened so often that Dead by Daylight barely needs to worry about long-term competition anymore (although it should, given the quality of its most recent update).
Now Gun Interactive is back with another licensed asymmetrical horror game – Halloween. With IllFonic handling development, they’re promising a unique blend of single-player and multiplayer horror that could shake up the genre. But Gun’s previous attempts at cracking this market offer some instructive lessons about just how challenging this space can be.
When Your Patterns Start to Show
Gun’s previous ventures into asymmetrical horror have had mixed results, though not always by choice. Friday the 13th: The Game launched in 2017 to strong player counts and genuine enthusiasm from horror fans. The game had real potential until legal disputes between the film’s original creators froze all new content development. While the licensing issues weren’t Gun’s fault, the game was eventually delisted in December 2023 and had its servers shut down earlier this year.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre followed in August 2023 with another promising launch – 17,000 concurrent Steam players, 200,000 Twitch viewers, and day-one Game Pass availability. For a while, it looked like Gun had found their formula for sustainable asymmetrical horror.
Unfortunately, player counts declined steadily over the game’s lifespan, with issues surrounding balancing, monetisation and content delivery schedules. By May 2025, with Steam numbers below 700 concurrent players, Gun announced the game would receive its final update and no further support.
Community Frustrations
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre shutdown understandably frustrated many players who felt the game was being abandoned prematurely. Multiple petitions emerged – one with over 4,000 signatures asking for continued support, and another with 700+ signatures requesting the development be transferred to another studio.
Many players – including those vocal on the Texas Chain Saw Massacre subreddit – have vowed to never touch another Gun release ever again. Already, there’s posts about the Halloween game’s announcement, saying “I guess we know why GUN abandoned TCM” and “looks like the scam is about to happen again”.
A Tough Market for Everyone
It’s not just Gun that’s having a tough time maintaining a playerbase and keeping their games alive – the asymmetrical horror space is incredibly challenging. Evil Dead: The Game was pulled from storefronts in May 2025. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is struggling with single-digit player counts on Steam. Even outside horror, major multiplayer games like Sony’s Concord have failed spectacularly despite massive budgets. This is why I was so happy that the recent Hellraiser game that was announced by Saber Interactive is singleplayer! And hopefully, Halloween’s single player is equally fleshed out.
Dead by Daylight remains the clear winner in this space, but they’ve had years to build their player base and perfect their content delivery system. Breaking into that market is no easy task.
Can Halloween Be Different?
Halloween does have some advantages that Gun’s previous games lacked. The single-player story mode could provide value even if the multiplayer struggles. Working with the original film producers should ensure authentic source material. And IllFonic – Friday the 13th’s licensing issues aside – seems to have a better read at maintaining live service games than Gun does. Ghostbusters, Predator and Killer Klowns all seem to still be receiving updates despite lower player counts.
Whether these factors will be enough to sustain a healthy player base long-term remains to be seen. Whilst Halloween will undeniably bring in new players, it’s hard to tell whether this will offset two key groups: asymmetrical horror fans who feel anxious about the state of the subgenre when every game except Dead by Daylight ceases updates after a few years, and previous Texas Chain Saw Massacre fans who now feel burned after that game’s perceived premature end. The asymmetrical horror market is unforgiving, and even well-made games can struggle to find lasting success.
Dead by Daylight probably isn’t losing sleep over the competition just yet, but more horror games in the space benefits everyone. Stay tuned to JumpScared! for coverage as Halloween develops.
