Do I ship it?

Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Survival

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Survival Class-Based game?

Class-Based + Survival

Of 45 developers who shipped a Survival Class-Based 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.. 92 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $780, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 92 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper, while revenue is up 110% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 110% on the market, 92 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based + Survival
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 45
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $599 → $179 → $779 → $330 → $899 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based + Survival: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 45
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $776 (exactly $776)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,144)
Top 5% $53k (exactly $52,615)
Developers, 2 yr 45
Released games 106
Announced 92
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 110% on the market, supply 175% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Survival
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Class-Based, Survival; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Combat
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Isometric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 47,275 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 $780, 1 in 4 over $3.1k, 1 in 20 over $52k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 92 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Class-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  2. + Bullet HeavenFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + SupernaturalLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  4. + 2D PlatformerLong shot26 devs · median $539 · 30 announced
  5. + FPSPoor odds22 devs · median $70k · 70 announced
  6. + MMORPGPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds18 devs · median $33k · 44 announced
  8. + WarPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 59 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds16 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds17 devs · median $13k · 42 announced
  11. + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  12. + WargamePoor odds14 devs · median $9.4k · 28 announced

All 111 pairs on the Class-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Deep Rock Galactic 2020 · $273M Marathon 2026 · $54M Killing Floor 2009 · $24M Dungeon Defenders: Awakened 2020 · $1.5M Three Kingdoms Mushouden 2025 · $1.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deep Rock Galactic older $29.99 303,142 97% 9.1M $273M (exactly $272,736,857) Ghost Ship Games
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
Killing Floor older $19.99 39,850 95% 1.2M $24M (exactly $23,898,045) Tripwire Interactive
Dungeon Defenders: Awakened older $14.99 3,264 67% 98k $1.5M (exactly $1,467,821) Chromatic Games
Three Kingdoms Mushouden $24.99 1,876 72% 56k $1.4M (exactly $1,406,437) NanBei Studio
The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation · EA older $29.99 397 63% 12k $357k (exactly $357,181) Supercube
Vade Retro : Exorcist older $6.99 921 70% 28k $193k (exactly $193,134) Forceight
Quest of Dungeons older $4.99 478 78% 14k $72k (exactly $71,557) David Amador
Duriano $14.99 117 95% 3.5k $53k (exactly $52,615) Adisoft Gaming Co.,Ltd.
Rebirth evolution older $8.99 125 61% 3.8k $34k (exactly $33,712) 异界游网络科技
Kritter: Defend Together $9.99 109 86% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,667) LJF Games
Devil Jam $7.99 84 69% 2.5k $20k (exactly $20,135) Rogueside
Tri Survive $7.99 54 90% 1.6k $13k (exactly $12,944) Majestic Mind Games
Project Lazarus 2 $6.99 33 75% 990 $6.9k (exactly $6,920) Terapoly
Tail and Chaos · EA $4.99 42 85% 1.3k $6.3k (exactly $6,287) Shnumi
Hyperplane · EA $5.99 29 44% 870 $5.2k (exactly $5,211) Damian Tran
UNSEEN LAND: INTO THE MIST · EA $13.99 12 41% 360 $5.0k (exactly $5,036) NetOps Inc.

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