Do I ship it?

GamesDestructionDestruction + Survival Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Destruction Survival Horror?

Destruction + Survival Horror

Only 13 developers shipped a Destruction Survival Horror 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, The Headliners, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 21 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×3257 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 21 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 21 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Destruction + Survival Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $104k → $3.0k → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Destruction + Survival Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,559)
Top 25% $29k (exactly $29,230)
Top 5% $2.0M (exactly $2,045,600)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 27
Announced 21
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 95% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Destruction
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Survival Horror
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Destruction, Survival Horror; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action-Adventure, Action, Adventure
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, 1990's, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 11,653 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $29k, 1 in 20 over $2.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 21 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Space SimFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 22 announced
  2. + ModernFair26 devs · median $1.6k · 28 announced
  3. + God GameFair19 devs · median $899 · 20 announced
  4. + Hidden ObjectFair9 devs · median $719 · 14 announced
  5. + Hack and SlashPoor odds19 devs · median $43k · 57 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds15 devs · median $26k · 22 announced
  7. + CapitalismPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 46 announced
  8. + Online Co-OpPoor odds37 devs · median $13k · 102 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds50 devs · median $11k · 113 announced
  10. + Automobile SimPoor odds22 devs · median $9.0k · 44 announced
  11. + ManagementPoor odds36 devs · median $6.1k · 129 announced
  12. + AutomationPoor odds22 devs · median $6.0k · 46 announced

All 139 pairs on the Destruction page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Headliners $7.99 8,534 86% 256k $2.0M (exactly $2,045,600) KAFI
Kill It With Fire older $12.99 4,036 95% 121k $1.6M (exactly $1,572,829) Casey Donnellan Games LLC
Funnel Runners · EA $14.99 2,941 83% 88k $1.3M (exactly $1,322,568) Supernova Studios LLC
FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction older $9.99 3,672 17% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,100,498) Team 6 Studios
RIPOUT older $19.99 783 65% 23k $470k (exactly $469,565) Pet Project Games
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising older $29.99 211 72% 6.3k $190k (exactly $189,837) LANCARSE
Backrooms Break older $8.99 385 70% 12k $104k (exactly $103,834) Jan Jileček
Decimate Drive older $7.99 321 91% 9.6k $77k (exactly $76,944) Some Random Designing
Sera's Adventure -Cave of Destruction- $18.99 76 53% 2.3k $43k (exactly $43,297) 渡里laboratory
The Strange City $14.99 65 47% 2.0k $29k (exactly $29,230) Newmatic Co., Ltd.
SUBMERSIBLE $8.99 10 80% 300 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) CJB Games
HEAVENSHATTER $4.99 16 93% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Raifu
The Boston Breeder $12.99 4 25% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) LostWorks
Voldark $11.99 3 0% 90 $1.1k (exactly $1,079) OzbalHan
Glory Defence $9.99 1 0% 30 $300 (exactly $300) Waytrel Studio
箍の外れたビスクドール $2.99 3 33% 90 $269 (exactly $269) おんねんちゃんねる

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