Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Artificial Intelligence

Of 31 developers who shipped an AI 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.. 73 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360, ×0.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 73 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper, while revenue is flat on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 73 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $898 → $2.8k → $899 → $748 → $599 → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,988)
Top 5% $147k (exactly $146,716)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 154
Announced 73
Effort 6 / 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 flat on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Survival Horror
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Survival Horror; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $10.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 12,122 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $360, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVFair13 devs · median $31k · 14 announced
  2. + DrivingFair20 devs · median $4.9k · 25 announced
  3. + Tower DefenseFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 16 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair16 devs · median $1.6k · 19 announced
  5. + SnowFair17 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  6. + SportsFair5 devs · median $959 · 3 announced
  7. + Outbreak SimFair22 devs · median $958 · 24 announced
  8. + 3D PlatformerFair111 devs · median $539 · 104 announced
  9. + Boomer ShooterFair27 devs · median $449 · 28 announced
  10. + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds10 devs · median $64k · 42 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds17 devs · median $52k · 21 announced
  12. + Spectacle fighterPoor odds8 devs · median $52k · 12 announced

All 159 pairs on the Survival Horror page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach older $39.99 65,350 86% 2.0M $78M (exactly $78,400,395) Steel Wool Studios
Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic $39.99 10,874 86% 326k $13M (exactly $13,045,538) Steel Wool Studios
Hello Neighbor 2 older $39.99 4,361 81% 131k $5.2M (exactly $5,231,892) Eerie Guest, tinyBuild
Kill It With Fire older $12.99 4,036 95% 121k $1.6M (exactly $1,572,829) Casey Donnellan Games LLC
Ghost Exorcism INC. · EA older $11.99 4,256 76% 128k $1.5M (exactly $1,530,883) StudioGoupil
Evil Nun: The Broken Mask older $19.99 1,084 95% 33k $650k (exactly $650,075) Keplerians, Carlos Coronado
Saiko no sutoka older $4.99 3,613 91% 108k $541k (exactly $540,866) Habupain
Haunt Chaser older $14.99 570 67% 17k $256k (exactly $256,329) Clock Wizard Games
The Escape: Together · EA older $3.99 2,023 79% 61k $242k (exactly $242,153) Nightstuff Games
Lost Lullabies: The Orphanage Chronicles $10.99 445 70% 13k $147k (exactly $146,716) Pugsy Studios
Creepy Shift: House For Sale $6.99 291 92% 8.7k $61k (exactly $61,023) Night Shift Team
Rainbow Gate $13.99 116 68% 3.5k $49k (exactly $48,685) 7EVIL Studio
THE WALLWAY · EA $9.99 35 5% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Daniel Seman
Veil of Mist $5.99 43 55% 1.3k $7.7k (exactly $7,727) Ember Wing Games
Your Friend's Mom $0.99 240 72% 7.2k $7.1k (exactly $7,128) nordska
Hunted on Eclipse-9 $9.99 22 95% 660 $6.6k (exactly $6,593) FinalFetish
CornField · EA $4.99 40 7% 1.2k $6.0k (exactly $5,988) Daniel Seman
Exit Zone · EA $9.99 16 18% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Daniel Seman

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