I guess youtubers and viral popularity potential plays a big role. I also think many developers might think that horror games are easier to develop than some other genres. No idea, I haven't developed any horror games, so it's hard to say what I think about it. However I think it could be a reason.
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Good horror, is quite like good science-fiction. Both are very hard.
Viral popularity works best with what is spontaneous. Now, how do you 'make' things spontaneous.
I think horror is ultimately about the quest for understanding the unknown, which finally turns out to be our own hidden potential. There is nothing else to be afraid of than oneself. It is the problem of attachment. Long story.
extremely well put and I agree with you 100%. I should have probably added that a simple horror game that mostly relies in dark lighting and jump scares is technically - as in development wise - probably easier to realise than some other game genres. Narrative wise horror is extremely difficult genre and great horror games are very tricky to pull off from that perspective. Thanks for bringing that up!