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Should I ship a Choose Your Own Adventure Survival Horror?
Survival Horror + Choose Your Own Adventure
Of 79 developers who shipped a Choose Your Own Adventure 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.. 115 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×526 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 115 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $958 (exactly $958) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $13,903) |
| Top 5% | $331k (exactly $330,569) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 79 |
| Released games | 209 |
| Announced | 115 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- Choose Your Own Adventure
- effort 2 / 10 · high · branching text with light state
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Survival Horror, Choose Your Own Adventure; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Visual Novel, Choices Matter
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Dark, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 35,033 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 43 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 115 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Survival Horror with a different second tag, 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
DayZ 2018 · $582M 
Sultan's Game 2025 · $19M 
The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries 2016 · $2.7M 
Your Turn To Die -Death Game By Majority- 2023 · EA · $2.1M 
Directive 8020 2026 · $2.0M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DayZ | older | $49.99 | 387,850 78% | 12M | $582M (exactly $581,658,645) | Bohemia Interactive |
| | Sultan's Game | $24.99 | 25,061 93% | 752k | $19M (exactly $18,788,232) | Double Cross | |
| | The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries | older | $14.99 | 6,047 80% | 181k | $2.7M (exactly $2,719,336) | Telltale Games |
| | Your Turn To Die -Death Game By Majority- | · EA older | $16.99 | 4,122 97% | 124k | $2.1M (exactly $2,100,983) | Nankidai |
| | Directive 8020 | $49.99 | 1,337 63% | 40k | $2.0M (exactly $2,005,099) | Supermassive Games | |
 | The Test | older | $1.99 | 19,599 96% | 588k | $1.2M (exactly $1,170,060) | Randumb Studios |
 | Saiko no sutoka | older | $4.99 | 3,613 91% | 108k | $541k (exactly $540,866) | Habupain |
 | YKMET: Strade | $14.99 | 1,189 98% | 36k | $535k (exactly $534,693) | Gatobob | |
 | The Price Of Flesh | older | $14.99 | 1,038 96% | 31k | $467k (exactly $466,789) | Gatobob |
 | Death Come True | older | $15.99 | 904 76% | 27k | $434k (exactly $433,649) | IzanagiGames, Too Kyo Games, ESQUADRA,i… (IzanagiGames, Too Kyo Games, ESQUADRA,inc.) |
 | THRESHOLD | $9.99 | 1,103 84% | 33k | $331k (exactly $330,569) | Julien Eveillé | |
 | SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim | $14.99 | 715 87% | 21k | $322k (exactly $321,536) | SAFE HAVN STUDIO | |
 | The Cabin Factory | $2.99 | 3,455 90% | 104k | $310k (exactly $309,914) | International Cat Studios | |
 | Who's at the door? | $4.99 | 1,492 89% | 45k | $223k (exactly $223,352) | SKONEC Entertainment | |
 | Pirates VR: Jolly Roger | $19.99 | 212 76% | 6.4k | $127k (exactly $127,136) | Split Light Studio | |
 | Lustful Dead 🔞 | $9.99 | 267 49% | 8.0k | $80k (exactly $80,020) | BanzaiProject | |
 | Heart of the Forest | $12.99 | 202 70% | 6.1k | $79k (exactly $78,719) | Trapped Predator |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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