Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Action RPG?

Action RPG + Zombies

Of 119 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 205 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×819 the market median. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 205 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 205 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 119
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.0k → $2.5k → $6.3k → $1.5k → $449 → $1.9k → $2.7k (still earning) → $22k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 119
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 25% $9.0k (exactly $8,992)
Top 5% $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332)
Developers, 2 yr 119
Released games 341
Announced 205
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 350% on the market, supply 20% fewer 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Action RPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, RPG, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 102,332 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $8.9k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 74 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 205 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Action RPG with a different setting or mood, 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 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition 2022 · $297M Dying Light 2015 · $280M Warhammer 40,000: Darktide 2022 · $130M Dying Light: The Beast 2025 · $107M Dead Island 2 2024 · $35M
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
Dying Light older $24.99 373,413 95% 11M $280M (exactly $279,947,726) Techland
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide older $39.99 108,477 72% 3.3M $130M (exactly $130,139,857) Fatshark
Dying Light: The Beast $59.99 59,318 87% 1.8M $107M (exactly $106,754,605) Techland
Dead Island 2 older $49.99 23,309 77% 699k $35M (exactly $34,956,507) Dambuster Studios
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights older $24.99 43,092 93% 1.3M $32M (exactly $32,306,072) Live Wire, Adglobe
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
The Killing Antidote · EA $29.99 7,512 88% 225k $6.8M (exactly $6,758,546) MetalStar Studio
Yet Another Zombie Survivors $14.99 14,123 91% 424k $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) Awesome Games Studio
IfSunSets · EA $19.99 2,284 74% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,369,715) POLYMORPH
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program $14.99 2,727 76% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) WarmCore Studio
HexBreaker Ⅱ $19.99 1,049 64% 31k $629k (exactly $629,085) 灵煦工作室
Bad 2 Bad: Apocalypse $19.99 905 77% 27k $543k (exactly $542,728) DAWINSTONE
FatalZone $6.99 2,125 66% 64k $446k (exactly $445,612) Midhard Games
Crimson Oath $14.99 750 82% 23k $337k (exactly $337,275) Parry Frames Team

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