Do I ship it?

GamesSurvivalSurvival + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Survival game?

Survival + Demons

Of 141 developers who shipped a Demon Survival 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.. 180 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 $780, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $100k, ×171 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 180 games are announced against 74 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 180 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 141
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $899 → $1.3k → $719 → $1.1k → $718 → $899 (still earning) → $270 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 141
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $779 (exactly $779)
Top 25% $4.2k (exactly $4,179)
Top 5% $108k (exactly $107,673)
Developers, 2 yr 141
Released games 426
Announced 180
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 flat on the market, supply 10% more 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
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Demons
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Survival; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Survival Horror
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Dark, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 4,915 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $780, 1 in 4 over $4.1k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 84 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 180 games are announced against 74 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds14 devs · median $74k · 10 announced
  2. + Social DeductionFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  4. + CatsFair33 devs · median $1.2k · 34 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair77 devs · median $1.0k · 84 announced
  6. + IdlerFair96 devs · median $836 · 99 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair79 devs · median $807 · 90 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair101 devs · median $599 · 130 announced
  9. + DogsFair20 devs · median $535 · 19 announced
  10. + Martial ArtsLong shot19 devs · median $419 · 17 announced
  11. + Boomer ShooterLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced

All 234 pairs on the Survival page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Blood West older $24.99 6,132 90% 184k $4.6M (exactly $4,597,160) Hyperstrange
SUCCUBUS older $24.99 5,049 76% 151k $3.8M (exactly $3,785,235) Madmind Studio
MADiSON older $34.99 3,007 87% 90k $3.2M (exactly $3,156,448) BLOODIOUS GAMES
DOOM 3 older $9.99 9,133 85% 274k $2.7M (exactly $2,737,160) id Software
Devil Daggers older $9.99 7,442 96% 223k $2.2M (exactly $2,230,367) Sorath
Agony UNRATED older $14.99 2,822 62% 85k $1.3M (exactly $1,269,053) Madmind Studio
Agony older $14.99 2,295 48% 69k $1.0M (exactly $1,032,062) Madmind Studio
Silver Chains older $24.99 931 70% 28k $698k (exactly $697,971) Cracked Heads Games
Nightmare of Decay older $4.99 4,245 95% 127k $635k (exactly $635,476) Checkmaty
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny $29.99 663 85% 20k $597k (exactly $596,501) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Priest Simulator: Vampire Show $19.99 735 94% 22k $441k (exactly $440,779) Asmodev
Paranoia Place: Escape Together $7.99 1,555 87% 47k $373k (exactly $372,734) Bloody Pixel Games
Night is Coming · EA $24.99 387 59% 12k $290k (exactly $290,134) Wild Forest Studio
EBOLA VILLAGE $16.99 369 79% 11k $188k (exactly $188,079) indie_games_studio
BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW $19.99 247 73% 7.4k $148k (exactly $148,126) Serafini Productions
HELLBREAK $14.99 275 76% 8.3k $124k (exactly $123,668) Double Barrel Games
Hauntsville $18.99 189 68% 5.7k $108k (exactly $107,673) Michael Janisch
Yokai Art 2: Tales of the Nine-Tails $9.99 314 75% 9.4k $94k (exactly $94,106) Secret Labo
ArkCraft: The Rebirth of the World $10.99 181 71% 5.4k $60k (exactly $59,676) ZD Yazilim

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