Games › Survival Horror › Survival Horror + Assassins
Should I ship an Assassin Survival Horror?
Survival Horror + Assassins
Of 20 developers who shipped an Assassin 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.. 30 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $73k, ×49 the market median. Revenue is up 285% on the market; 30 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,618) |
| Top 25% | $20k (exactly $19,793) |
| Top 5% | $74k (exactly $73,588) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 20 |
| Released games | 57 |
| Announced | 30 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.00 |
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 285% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Survival Horror
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Assassins
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Survival Horror; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Multiple Endings
- Price point
- $5.00 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.00.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 777 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Escape the Ayurok | older | $10.99 | 996 79% | 30k | $328k (exactly $328,381) | DeadlyCrow Games |
| | MADiSON VR | older | $34.99 | 207 76% | 6.2k | $217k (exactly $217,288) | BLOODIOUS GAMES |
| | THE LAST TRAIN: Baquedano | $7.99 | 307 91% | 9.2k | $74k (exactly $73,588) | Matías Avilés | |
| | GAME.exe | older | $3.99 | 415 83% | 12k | $50k (exactly $49,676) | Punx Studios |
| | The Lacerator | $9.99 | 161 99% | 4.8k | $48k (exactly $48,252) | Games From The Abyss | |
| | Lycans | older | $4.99 | 309 91% | 9.3k | $46k (exactly $46,257) | Onu Games |
| | Deca | older | $18.99 | 43 83% | 1.3k | $24k (exactly $24,497) | Chrome Horizon 3D |
| | Beyond R: Rule Ripper | $24.99 | 32 90% | 960 | $24k (exactly $23,990) | Tohriv, GJ Staff | |
| | Five Nights at Dream's | $3.99 | 181 91% | 5.4k | $22k (exactly $21,666) | PurpleCrit | |
| | Oxide Room 208 | $29.99 | 22 31% | 660 | $20k (exactly $19,793) | WildSphere | |
| | Outbreak Zombie Plague | $3.99 | 32 34% | 960 | $3.8k (exactly $3,830) | Aurora Studios | |
| | Bloody Hills | $5.99 | 16 93% | 480 | $2.9k (exactly $2,875) | Bloody Pitchfork Games | |
| | Umbra: Veins of Vengeance | $5.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) | Leslie Phillips, QuantuMedia | |
| | Phantom Playhouse | $7.99 | 8 62% | 240 | $1.9k (exactly $1,918) | Kakytron | |
| | Don't Stop In Red Wood | $8.99 | 6 83% | 180 | $1.6k (exactly $1,618) | Diego Victor |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.