Games › Survival Horror › Survival Horror + Aliens
Should I ship an Alien Survival Horror?
Survival Horror + Aliens
Of 62 developers who shipped an Alien Survival Horror 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.. 125 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.9k, ×4.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×3339 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 125 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) |
| Top 25% | $37k (exactly $37,372) |
| Top 5% | $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 62 |
| Released games | 174 |
| Announced | 125 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Survival Horror
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Aliens
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Survival Horror; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 42,745 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 7 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 125 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Survival Horror with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVFair
- + DrivingFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + SnowFair
- + SportsFair
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
- + Boomer ShooterFair
- + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Spectacle fighterPoor odds
Comparable games
Subnautica 2018 · $307M 
Lethal Company 2023 · EA · $123M 
Dead Space 2023 · $113M 
Subnautica: Below Zero 2021 · $89M 
Alien: Isolation 2014 · $58M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Subnautica | older | $29.99 | 341,390 97% | 10M | $307M (exactly $307,148,583) | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
| | Lethal Company | · EA older | $9.99 | 411,550 97% | 12M | $123M (exactly $123,341,535) | Zeekerss |
| | Dead Space | older | $59.99 | 62,997 90% | 1.9M | $113M (exactly $113,375,701) | Motive |
| | Subnautica: Below Zero | older | $29.99 | 99,384 90% | 3.0M | $89M (exactly $89,415,785) | Unknown Worlds Entertainment |
| | Alien: Isolation | older | $39.99 | 48,591 92% | 1.5M | $58M (exactly $58,294,623) | Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive (M… (Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux)) |
 | Prey | older | $29.99 | 37,759 90% | 1.1M | $34M (exactly $33,971,772) | Arkane Studios |
 | Aliens: Fireteam Elite | older | $29.99 | 21,668 80% | 650k | $19M (exactly $19,494,700) | Cold Iron Studios |
 | Dead Space™ 2 | older | $19.99 | 25,897 94% | 777k | $16M (exactly $15,530,431) | Visceral Games |
 | Dead Space (2008) | older | $19.99 | 22,890 92% | 687k | $14M (exactly $13,727,133) | EA Redwood Shores |
 | Aliens vs. Predator™ | older | $14.99 | 16,268 91% | 488k | $7.3M (exactly $7,315,720) | Rebellion |
 | ROUTINE | $24.99 | 7,322 91% | 220k | $5.5M (exactly $5,489,303) | Lunar Software | |
 | Nuclear Nightmare | · EA | $6.99 | 15,403 81% | 462k | $3.2M (exactly $3,230,009) | BG Productions |
 | Species: Unknown | · EA | $9.99 | 9,437 94% | 283k | $2.8M (exactly $2,828,269) | WanadevStudio |
 | A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead | $29.99 | 2,331 74% | 70k | $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) | Stormind Games | |
 | Directive 8020 | $49.99 | 1,337 63% | 40k | $2.0M (exactly $2,005,099) | Supermassive Games | |
 | Alien: Rogue Incursion VR | $39.99 | 1,340 70% | 40k | $1.6M (exactly $1,607,598) | Survios | |
 | Level Zero: Extraction | $19.99 | 2,446 50% | 73k | $1.5M (exactly $1,466,866) | Doghowl Games | |
 | The Thing: Remastered | $29.99 | 1,203 89% | 36k | $1.1M (exactly $1,082,339) | Nightdive Studios, Computer Artworks | |
 | Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition | $29.99 | 899 72% | 27k | $809k (exactly $808,830) | Survios | |
 | Sketchy's Contract | $8.99 | 1,027 83% | 31k | $277k (exactly $276,982) | Dimensionless Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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