Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Survival Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Survival Horror Action RPG?

Action RPG + Survival Horror

Of 74 developers who shipped a Survival Horror Action RPG 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.. 154 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×2.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $6.7M, ×4531 the market median. Revenue is up 640% on the market; 154 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 640% on the market, 154 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Survival Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.0k → $713 → $3.4k → $1.2k → $4.2k → $3.8k → $33k (still earning) → $67k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Survival Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $4.2k (exactly $4,192)
Top 25% $101k (exactly $100,543)
Top 5% $6.8M (exactly $6,787,642)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 204
Announced 154
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 640% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action RPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Survival Horror
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RPG, Survival Horror; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 68,236 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $4.2k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $6.7M.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 48 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 154 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action RPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + NavalFair17 devs · median $15k · 11 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpFair68 devs · median $6.0k · 82 announced
  3. + WesternFair13 devs · median $5.5k · 15 announced
  4. + Local MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorLong shot35 devs · median $450 · 33 announced
  6. + WuxiaPoor odds7 devs · median $198k · 28 announced
  7. + Character Action GamePoor odds14 devs · median $105k · 55 announced
  8. + MechsPoor odds21 devs · median $59k · 43 announced
  9. + Colony SimPoor odds11 devs · median $58k · 35 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds31 devs · median $44k · 47 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds23 devs · median $26k · 69 announced
  12. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds77 devs · median $25k · 91 announced

All 211 pairs on the Action RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Dying Light 2015 · $280M Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon 2025 · $45M Onimusha: Way of the Sword 2026 · $24M Resident Evil Revelations 2 2015 · $15M VEIN 2025 · EA · $6.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dying Light older $24.99 373,413 95% 11M $280M (exactly $279,947,726) Techland
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon $44.99 33,560 87% 1.0M $45M (exactly $45,295,932) Questline
Onimusha: Way of the Sword $69.99 11,279 89% 338k $24M (exactly $23,682,516) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Resident Evil Revelations 2 older $19.99 25,446 78% 763k $15M (exactly $15,259,966) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
VEIN · EA $19.99 11,539 87% 346k $6.9M (exactly $6,919,938) Ramjet Studios
Atomfall $49.99 4,526 76% 136k $6.8M (exactly $6,787,642) Rebellion
Bleak Faith: Forsaken older $29.99 2,839 75% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Archangel Studios
Onee Chanbara ORIGIN older $59.99 1,217 75% 37k $2.2M (exactly $2,190,235) Tamsoft
IfSunSets · EA $19.99 2,284 74% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,369,715) POLYMORPH
HellSign older $19.99 2,147 67% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,287,556) Ballistic Interactive
Wicked Seed $19.99 1,376 94% 41k $825k (exactly $825,187) Dead Right Games
The Scourge | Tai Ương $19.99 1,192 93% 36k $715k (exactly $714,842) Rare Reversee, Beaztek
Project Werewulf $29.99 778 83% 23k $700k (exactly $699,967) FTRGameStudio
Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone · EA $39.99 528 62% 16k $633k (exactly $633,442) The Farm 51
Spark in the Dark · EA $16.99 1,174 87% 35k $598k (exactly $598,388) Stellar Fish

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