Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Zombies

Of 369 developers who shipped a Zombie Action-Adventure in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 517 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×283 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 517 games are announced against 191 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 517 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 369
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0k → $2.2k → $1.2k → $1.5k → $748 → $750 → $659 (still earning) → $987 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 369
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $6.9k (exactly $6,920)
Top 5% $178k (exactly $177,722)
Developers, 2 yr 369
Released games 976
Announced 517
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 95% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Zombies
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Action-Adventure; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.98 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.98 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 205,409 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $900, 1 in 4 over $6.9k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 196 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 517 games are announced against 191 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action-Adventure with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair18 devs · median $6.7k · 19 announced
  3. + BikesFair11 devs · median $2.5k · 11 announced
  4. + TransportationFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  5. + MotorbikeFair9 devs · median $2.3k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingLong shot14 devs · median $360 · 16 announced
  7. + Time AttackLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 17 announced
  8. + Character Action GamePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  9. + MMORPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 116 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds49 devs · median $25k · 133 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds81 devs · median $24k · 135 announced
  12. + Villain ProtagonistPoor odds12 devs · median $17k · 26 announced

All 242 pairs on the Action-Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition older $59.99 164,914 79% 4.9M $297M (exactly $296,795,726) Techland
Resident Evil Requiem $69.99 106,931 95% 3.2M $225M (exactly $224,523,021) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Resident Evil 4 older $39.99 186,701 97% 5.6M $224M (exactly $223,985,190) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
The Last of Us™ Part I older $59.99 65,259 85% 2.0M $117M (exactly $117,446,622) Naughty Dog LLC, Iron Galaxy Studios
Dying Light: The Beast $59.99 59,318 87% 1.8M $107M (exactly $106,754,605) Techland
Days Gone older $39.99 82,655 92% 2.5M $99M (exactly $99,161,204) Bend Studio
Dead Island 2 older $49.99 23,309 77% 699k $35M (exactly $34,956,507) Dambuster Studios
Red Dead Redemption $49.99 20,294 92% 609k $30M (exactly $30,434,912) Rockstar Games, Double Eleven
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando $39.99 6,274 72% 188k $7.5M (exactly $7,526,918) Saber Interactive
Prototype™ older $19.99 12,518 80% 376k $7.5M (exactly $7,507,045) Radical Entertainment
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster $49.99 2,971 80% 89k $4.5M (exactly $4,455,609) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN $49.99 2,059 87% 62k $3.1M (exactly $3,087,882) GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
IfSunSets · EA $19.99 2,284 74% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,369,715) POLYMORPH
Dread Dawn $19.99 2,113 71% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,166) Kioop
FBC: Firebreak $19.99 1,985 65% 60k $1.2M (exactly $1,190,404) Remedy Entertainment
DREADZONE · EA $24.99 1,180 51% 35k $885k (exactly $884,646) Eshed

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.