Games › Survival Horror › Survival Horror + Collectathon
Should I ship a Collectathon Survival Horror?
Survival Horror + Collectathon
Of 39 developers who shipped a Collectathon 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.. 45 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×218 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 45 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $718 (exactly $718) |
| Top 25% | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) |
| Top 5% | $137k (exactly $136,663) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 39 |
| Released games | 113 |
| Announced | 45 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 25% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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
- Collectathon
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Survival Horror, Collectathon; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Walking Simulator
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 2,038 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 19 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Lunch Lady | older | $4.99 | 9,722 86% | 292k | $1.5M (exactly $1,455,383) | Manic Mice |
| | Night Raider | older | $5.99 | 1,908 85% | 57k | $343k (exactly $342,868) | TSUKUYOMIC |
| | Enter The Backrooms | older | $9.99 | 986 87% | 30k | $296k (exactly $295,504) | Justin Kroh |
| | Paranormal Cleanup | $9.99 | 961 88% | 29k | $288k (exactly $288,012) | Manic Mice | |
| | Dread X Collection 2 | older | $9.99 | 573 93% | 17k | $172k (exactly $171,728) | DreadXP, David Szymanski, Torple Dook,… (DreadXP, David Szymanski, Torple Dook, Lovely Hellplace, Scythe Dev Team, Secret Cow Level, panstasz, Mahelyk, Daniel Mullins Games, Wither Studios, Akabaka, Vidas Salavejus, Wayward Preacher, John Szymanski, Bathysfear Labs, Abbey 'Scruncho' Smith) |
| | Hachishaku | $9.99 | 456 85% | 14k | $137k (exactly $136,663) | Trash Panda Games | |
| | Jeffrey Eggstein | · EA | $4.99 | 290 94% | 8.7k | $43k (exactly $43,413) | Grabba Guild Games LLC |
| | Lost Alone Ultimate | older | $14.99 | 92 88% | 2.8k | $41k (exactly $41,372) | Daniele Doesn't Matter |
| | Escape FishStop 3D | · EA older | $8.99 | 60 96% | 1.8k | $16k (exactly $16,182) | Owen6936 |
| | Lost Child | $4.99 | 101 78% | 3.0k | $15k (exactly $15,120) | ASK GAMES | |
| | Willie's Nightfall | $4.99 | 65 78% | 2.0k | $9.7k (exactly $9,730) | Runebox Game Studio | |
| | DON'T LOOK AT GRANDMA | $4.99 | 64 93% | 1.9k | $9.6k (exactly $9,581) | Danger Sauce LLC | |
| | BALL BOY Simulator | $4.99 | 34 91% | 1.0k | $5.1k (exactly $5,090) | EBA GAME | |
| | Alchemy of the Earth | $7.99 | 21 61% | 630 | $5.0k (exactly $5,034) | Tamalpais Games | |
| | The Fox Hare Disaster: Chapter One | $3.99 | 33 96% | 990 | $4.0k (exactly $3,950) | Dream Oni, Cosmic Boop, Valorware | |
| | Pizza Delivery Survivors | · EA | $9.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) | Conglomerated Industries |
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.