Do I ship it?

Games › Action Roguelike › Action Roguelike + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Action Roguelike?

Action Roguelike + Zombies

Of 168 developers who shipped a Zombie Action Roguelike 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.. 264 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×710 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 264 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 264 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action Roguelike + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 168
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $356 → $3.8k → $1.1k → $2.6k → $1.2k → $300 → $1.6k (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action Roguelike + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 168
Bottom 30% $240 (exactly $240)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $8.6k (exactly $8,572)
Top 5% $446k (exactly $445,612)
Developers, 2 yr 168
Released games 411
Announced 264
Effort 5 / 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 down 20% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 Roguelike
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action Roguelike; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelite, Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 44,779 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $8.5k, 1 in 20 over $440k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 88 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 264 games are announced against 88 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RomanceStrong odds22 devs · median $6.5k · 17 announced
  2. + Creature CollectorFair39 devs · median $1.8k · 54 announced
  3. + SportsFair41 devs · median $1.6k · 39 announced
  4. + Boss RushFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 19 announced
  5. + VampiresFair55 devs · median $1.3k · 52 announced
  6. + IdlerFair44 devs · median $1.0k · 55 announced
  7. + DogsFair19 devs · median $899 · 18 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerFair36 devs · median $629 · 38 announced
  9. + FaithFair16 devs · median $449 · 21 announced
  10. + Character Action GamePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 40 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds13 devs · median $12k · 14 announced
  12. + MechsPoor odds44 devs · median $12k · 85 announced

All 205 pairs on the Action Roguelike page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Deadzone: Rogue 2025 · $11M Yet Another Zombie Survivors 2026 · $6.4M The Last Stand: Aftermath 2021 · $4.6M Death Road to Canada 2016 · $4.1M Dead Estate 2021 · $2.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deadzone: Rogue $24.99 15,041 82% 451k $11M (exactly $11,276,238) Prophecy Games
Yet Another Zombie Survivors $14.99 14,123 91% 424k $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) Awesome Games Studio
The Last Stand: Aftermath older $24.99 6,096 80% 183k $4.6M (exactly $4,570,171) Con Artist Games
Death Road to Canada older $14.99 9,123 92% 274k $4.1M (exactly $4,102,613) Rocketcat Games, Madgarden
Dead Estate older $14.99 5,778 95% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) Milkbar Lads
SKYHILL older $9.99 4,736 78% 142k $1.4M (exactly $1,419,379) Mandragora
Apocalypse Party older $9.99 4,658 72% 140k $1.4M (exactly $1,396,003) Breaker Games
Deadly Days: Roadtrip · EA $14.99 2,855 87% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894) Pixelsplit
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program $14.99 2,727 76% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) WarmCore Studio
West of Dead older $19.99 1,289 76% 39k $773k (exactly $773,013) Upstream Arcade
GOD FORSAKEN $13.99 1,728 67% 52k $725k (exactly $725,242) insight studio
Zombieville USA 3D $9.99 2,184 92% 66k $655k (exactly $654,545) Mika Mobile, Inc.
Whisper Mountain Outbreak · EA $7.99 2,421 84% 73k $580k (exactly $580,314) Toge Productions
Section 13 $19.99 770 70% 23k $462k (exactly $461,769) Ocean Drive Studio, Inc.
FatalZone $6.99 2,125 66% 64k $446k (exactly $445,612) Midhard Games
Zombie Graveyard Simulator $14.99 805 89% 24k $362k (exactly $362,008) threeW

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