Do I ship it?

Games › Base Building › Base Building + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Base Building game?

Base Building + Zombies

Of 106 developers who shipped a Zombie Base Building 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.. 223 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $990; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×2018 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 223 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 223 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Base Building + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 106
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.5k → $4.3k → $16k → $2.6k → $4.8k → $3.6k → $2.7k (still earning) → $11k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Base Building + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 106
Bottom 30% $989 (exactly $989)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,627)
Top 25% $51k (exactly $51,249)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,267,166)
Developers, 2 yr 106
Released games 303
Announced 223
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Base Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
Base Building; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Survival, Action, Building
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $21.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $21.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 57,924 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $990, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $51k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $990. 7 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 223 games are announced against 59 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + ProgrammingFair13 devs · median $53k · 21 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair12 devs · median $13k · 19 announced
  3. + Bullet HellFair61 devs · median $540 · 67 announced
  4. + DiplomacyPoor odds19 devs · median $520k · 47 announced
  5. + SailingPoor odds9 devs · median $356k · 38 announced
  6. + Dating SimPoor odds19 devs · median $128k · 21 announced
  7. + TrainsPoor odds19 devs · median $113k · 47 announced
  8. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds20 devs · median $73k · 35 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds130 devs · median $72k · 262 announced
  10. + UndergroundPoor odds12 devs · median $65k · 71 announced
  11. + MarsPoor odds15 devs · median $58k · 28 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds81 devs · median $58k · 175 announced

All 175 pairs on the Base Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

7 Days to Die 2024 · $369M State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition 2020 · $53M They Are Billions 2019 · $42M Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
7 Days to Die older $44.99 273,589 87% 8.2M $369M (exactly $369,263,073) The Fun Pimps
State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition older $29.99 59,156 83% 1.8M $53M (exactly $53,222,653) Undead Labs
They Are Billions older $29.99 46,223 85% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,586,833) Numantian Games
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Night of the Dead older $29.99 10,380 77% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,338,886) Jackto Studios
SurrounDead · EA older $11.99 24,538 91% 736k $8.8M (exactly $8,826,319) Zurvivor
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check $19.99 11,827 81% 355k $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) Brigada Games
VEIN · EA $19.99 11,539 87% 346k $6.9M (exactly $6,919,938) Ramjet Studios
HumanitZ $19.99 11,155 74% 335k $6.7M (exactly $6,689,653) Yodubzz Studios
IfSunSets · EA $19.99 2,284 74% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,369,715) POLYMORPH
Dread Dawn $19.99 2,113 71% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,166) Kioop
The Walking Trade $11.99 2,733 86% 82k $983k (exactly $983,060) Microwave Games
Survival Log $10.99 2,709 82% 81k $893k (exactly $893,157) Midnight Workshop
DREADZONE · EA $24.99 1,180 51% 35k $885k (exactly $884,646) Eshed
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations

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