Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Dating Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dating Sim Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Dating Sim

Of 21 developers who shipped a Dating Sim 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.. 16 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $17k, ×28 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $270k, ×440 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 16 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 27.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 16 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Dating Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $38k → $64k → $48k → $15k (still earning) → $2.7k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Dating Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $3.1k (exactly $3,144)
Median $17k (exactly $17,405)
Top 25% $64k (exactly $63,536)
Top 5% $276k (exactly $276,418)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 73
Announced 16
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 80% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Survival Horror
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Dating Sim
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high 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
Survival Horror, Dating Sim; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 11,751 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.2k, median $17k, 1 in 4 over $63k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.2k. 3 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival Horror with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVFair13 devs · median $31k · 14 announced
  2. + DrivingFair20 devs · median $4.9k · 25 announced
  3. + Tower DefenseFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 16 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair16 devs · median $1.6k · 19 announced
  5. + SnowFair17 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  6. + SportsFair5 devs · median $959 · 3 announced
  7. + Outbreak SimFair22 devs · median $958 · 24 announced
  8. + 3D PlatformerFair111 devs · median $539 · 104 announced
  9. + Boomer ShooterFair27 devs · median $449 · 28 announced
  10. + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds10 devs · median $64k · 42 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds17 devs · median $52k · 21 announced
  12. + Spectacle fighterPoor odds8 devs · median $52k · 12 announced

All 159 pairs on the Survival Horror page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Chinese Parents older $9.99 23,168 91% 695k $6.9M (exactly $6,943,450) 墨鱼玩游戏
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School older $29.99 3,807 81% 114k $3.4M (exactly $3,425,158) SONNORI Corp
Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator older $14.99 5,408 91% 162k $2.4M (exactly $2,431,978) Game Grumps
Paper Dolls 2 纸人贰 older $19.99 2,636 82% 79k $1.6M (exactly $1,580,809) Beijing Litchi Culture Media Co., Ltd.
Home Sweet Home older $15.99 3,127 87% 94k $1.5M (exactly $1,500,022) YGGDRAZIL GROUP CO.,LTD
IN HEAT: Lustful Nights · EA older $14.99 3,285 93% 99k $1.5M (exactly $1,477,264) MonsterBox
Seed of the Dead older $14.99 1,058 79% 32k $476k (exactly $475,783) TeamKRAMA
SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim $14.99 715 87% 21k $322k (exactly $321,536) SAFE HAVN STUDIO
your wife $0.99 9,307 95% 279k $276k (exactly $276,418) HaHaHaGame
Seven Nights Ghost older $11.99 617 92% 19k $222k (exactly $221,935) TozukuGames
Hachishaku $9.99 456 85% 14k $137k (exactly $136,663) Trash Panda Games
Hachishakusama | 八尺様がいた夏休み $7.44 388 94% 12k $87k (exactly $86,602) Fukachi World
Lustful Dead 🔞 $9.99 267 49% 8.0k $80k (exactly $80,020) BanzaiProject
Lust 'n Dead 🔞 $9.99 212 66% 6.4k $64k (exactly $63,536) Octo Games
Togainu no Chi: True Blood NITRO ARCHIVE $29.99 58 98% 1.7k $52k (exactly $52,183) NITRO PLUS, NITRO CHiRAL
Blood & Lust [18+]🩸 $9.99 161 75% 4.8k $48k (exactly $48,252) Carnality INC
The Sex Curse 💋 $9.99 114 88% 3.4k $34k (exactly $34,166) Lust Desires 🖤
Paradise: Musubi $14.99 73 98% 2.2k $33k (exactly $32,828) PIL/SLASH

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