Games › CRPG › CRPG + Survival
Should I ship a Survival CRPG?
CRPG + Survival
Of 45 developers who shipped a Survival CRPG 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.. 85 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300. 85 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper, while revenue is down 65% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $5.8k (exactly $5,838) |
| Top 5% | $144k (exactly $143,957) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 45 |
| Released games | 125 |
| Announced | 85 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 65% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- CRPG, Survival; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry RPG, Adventure, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 13,581 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 7 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 85 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
CRPG with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + TabletopFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + IncrementalLong shot
- + FMVPoor odds
- + Card BattlerPoor odds
- + Grid-Based MovementPoor odds
- + SpacePoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Souls-likePoor odds
Comparable games
Caves of Qud 2024 · $11M 
Pathologic 2 2019 · $10M 
Tainted Grail: Conquest 2021 · $4.6M 
ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game 2018 · $4.5M 
Wasteland 2: Director's Cut 2014 · $4.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Caves of Qud | $29.99 | 11,892 94% | 357k | $11M (exactly $10,699,232) | Freehold Games | |
| | Pathologic 2 | older | $34.99 | 9,554 92% | 287k | $10M (exactly $10,028,834) | Ice-Pick Lodge |
| | Tainted Grail: Conquest | older | $19.99 | 7,589 90% | 228k | $4.6M (exactly $4,551,123) | Questline |
| | ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game | older | $14.99 | 9,991 84% | 300k | $4.5M (exactly $4,492,953) | AtomTeam |
| | Wasteland 2: Director's Cut | older | $29.99 | 4,664 82% | 140k | $4.2M (exactly $4,196,201) | inXile Entertainment |
 | Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG | older | $29.99 | 4,193 77% | 126k | $3.8M (exactly $3,772,442) | Dark Crystal Games |
 | ATOM RPG Trudograd | older | $10.99 | 3,976 83% | 119k | $1.3M (exactly $1,310,887) | AtomTeam |
 | Expeditions: Conquistador | older | $19.99 | 1,228 77% | 37k | $736k (exactly $736,432) | Logic Artists |
 | The Doors of Trithius | · EA older | $14.99 | 973 93% | 29k | $438k (exactly $437,558) | Jake Donkersgoed |
 | Wanted Raccoon | · EA older | $16.99 | 660 72% | 20k | $336k (exactly $336,402) | MAD Sprouts |
 | Escape The Mad Empire | · EA | $17.99 | 406 88% | 12k | $219k (exactly $219,118) | XperimentalZ Games |
 | 硬币与仙人掌 (Coins & Wishpalm) | $13.99 | 343 77% | 10k | $144k (exactly $143,957) | Moshow Games | |
 | Border Town | $14.99 | 253 77% | 7.6k | $114k (exactly $113,774) | GoHoGames | |
 | PuPu's Adventure Park | $14.99 | 130 64% | 3.9k | $58k (exactly $58,461) | 西梅树工作室 | |
 | Abyss Of Pleasure | $11.80 | 139 88% | 4.2k | $49k (exactly $49,206) | Jpegsama | |
 | Immortal Farmer: System’s Mandate | · EA | $4.99 | 297 68% | 8.9k | $44k (exactly $44,461) | oyogame |
 | Rust of Steel | $10.99 | 67 65% | 2.0k | $22k (exactly $22,090) | Fortress13 Game Studio | |
 | Three Kingdoms Part One: Battle of Zhuo County | $14.99 | 30 60% | 900 | $13k (exactly $13,491) | JiMoYou | |
 | Phantom Tower | · EA | $12.99 | 24 75% | 720 | $9.4k (exactly $9,353) | Horien Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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