Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Arcade game?

Arcade + Zombies

Of 160 developers who shipped a Zombie Arcade game 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.. 183 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 86 developers shipped in the last year and 183 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 183 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 160
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $479 → $899 → $1.3k → $1.1k → $299 → $300 → $449 (still earning) → $179 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 160
Bottom 30% $148 (exactly $148)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.8k (exactly $1,796)
Top 5% $49k (exactly $49,151)
Developers, 2 yr 160
Released games 568
Announced 183
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 80% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Arcade; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Combat
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 36,903 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.7k, 1 in 20 over $49k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 86 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 183 games are announced against 86 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  2. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  4. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  5. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  6. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  7. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  9. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  11. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  12. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Tower Unite 2025 · $9.7M Yet Another Zombie Survivors 2026 · $6.4M Gas Guzzlers Extreme 2013 · $2.3M THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake 2022 · $2.0M Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2 2018 · $1.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tower Unite $19.99 16,237 89% 487k $9.7M (exactly $9,737,329) PixelTail Games
Yet Another Zombie Survivors $14.99 14,123 91% 424k $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) Awesome Games Studio
Gas Guzzlers Extreme older $24.99 3,081 86% 92k $2.3M (exactly $2,309,826) Gamepires
THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: Remake older $24.99 2,703 68% 81k $2.0M (exactly $2,026,439) MegaPixel Studio S. A.
Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2 older $12.99 4,742 94% 142k $1.8M (exactly $1,847,957) Rogueside, Claeysbrothers
The Typing of The Dead: Overkill older $19.99 2,782 87% 83k $1.7M (exactly $1,668,365) Modern Dream
Sairento VR older $29.99 1,448 86% 43k $1.3M (exactly $1,302,766) Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holding… (Mixed Realms Pte Ltd, Swag Soft Holdings Pte Ltd)
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program $14.99 2,727 76% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) WarmCore Studio
Guns, Gore & Cannoli older $9.99 3,681 91% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,103,196) Rogueside, Claeysbrothers
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse older $19.99 1,781 89% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,068,066) Aspyr
Zombieville USA 3D $9.99 2,184 92% 66k $655k (exactly $654,545) Mika Mobile, Inc.
THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2: Remake $24.99 607 44% 18k $455k (exactly $455,068) MegaPixel Studio S. A.
Pizza Bandit · EA $24.99 185 82% 5.6k $139k (exactly $138,694) JOFSOFT
Soulforge Lost Path $8.99 302 69% 9.1k $81k (exactly $81,449) Ziyue
Night Slashers: Remake $9.99 164 61% 4.9k $49k (exactly $49,151) Storm Trident S.A.
KUNKUN Defender 2 $4.99 294 94% 8.8k $44k (exactly $44,012) Seal
Son of a Gun $9.99 80 78% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,976) Crank Goblin

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