Do I ship it?

Games › Colony Sim › Colony Sim + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Colony Sim?

Colony Sim + Zombies

Only 16 developers shipped a Zombie Colony Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Diplomacy is Not an Option, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 37 more are announced, ×6.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $26k, ×42 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.3k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.8M, ×15622 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 37 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 42.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 37 announced, ×6.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Colony Sim + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $645k → $180 → $62k → $2.2k → $26k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Colony Sim + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $1.3k (exactly $1,256)
Median $26k (exactly $26,387)
Top 25% $368k (exactly $368,103)
Top 5% $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 37
Announced 37
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $11.99

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 40% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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.

Colony Sim
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Colony Sim
Price point
$11.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 22,998 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.3k, median $26k, 1 in 4 over $360k, 1 in 20 over $9.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.3k. 5 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Colony Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Female ProtagonistFair7 devs · median $4.6k · 11 announced
  2. + ArcadeLong shot13 devs · median $359 · 19 announced
  3. + 4XPoor odds23 devs · median $314k · 77 announced
  4. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds11 devs · median $170k · 25 announced
  5. + Co-opPoor odds13 devs · median $73k · 54 announced
  6. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds11 devs · median $73k · 21 announced
  7. + HistoricalPoor odds42 devs · median $59k · 75 announced
  8. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds16 devs · median $59k · 43 announced
  9. + Open WorldPoor odds78 devs · median $58k · 168 announced
  10. + Action RPGPoor odds11 devs · median $58k · 35 announced
  11. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds48 devs · median $54k · 101 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds13 devs · median $50k · 31 announced

All 93 pairs on the Colony Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

They Are Billions 2019 · $42M Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days 2025 · EA · $6.8M Colony Survival 2017 · EA · $6.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days · EA $24.99 9,049 89% 271k $6.8M (exactly $6,784,035) PikPok
Colony Survival · EA older $24.95 8,260 92% 248k $6.2M (exactly $6,182,610) Pipliz
The Last Haven older $19.99 1,445 60% 43k $867k (exactly $866,566) Thunder Devs.
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations
Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville older $14.99 1,486 86% 45k $668k (exactly $668,254) Northway Games, Sarah Northway
From Glory To Goo · EA older $11.99 1,794 96% 54k $645k (exactly $645,302) Stratagem Blue
Darfall $24.99 491 71% 15k $368k (exactly $368,103) SquareNite
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室
Final Outpost: Definitive Edition $9.99 208 76% 6.2k $62k (exactly $62,338) Exabyte Games
Rekindling $19.99 44 79% 1.3k $26k (exactly $26,387) SFS Studios
The Colony 2044 · EA $9.99 32 59% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) Nexrage Studios
No Ticket Back: Craft, Survive & Escape $9.99 16 87% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) GameEraStudios

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