Games › Economy › Economy + Post-apocalyptic
Should I ship a Post-apocalyptic Economy game?
Economy + Post-apocalyptic
Of 35 developers who shipped a Post-apocalyptic Economy 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.. 78 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $8.7k, ×14 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $1.1M, ×1808 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 78 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.5k (exactly $1,498) |
|---|---|
| Median | $8.7k (exactly $8,700) |
| Top 25% | $295k (exactly $294,632) |
| Top 5% | $1.1M (exactly $1,135,421) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 35 |
| Released games | 85 |
| Announced | 78 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 85% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Economy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Post-apocalyptic
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Survival, Base Building, Building
- Price point
- $11.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $11.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 14,560 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 4 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Economy with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + ScienceFair
- + MiningFair
- + LootFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + God GameFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
Comparable games
Frostpunk 2018 · $103M 
Last Oasis 2020 · EA · $18M 
IXION 2022 · $16M 
Endzone - A World Apart 2021 · $6.2M 
Flotsam 2025 · $3.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Frostpunk | older | $29.99 | 114,376 92% | 3.4M | $103M (exactly $102,904,087) | 11 bit studios |
| | Last Oasis | · EA older | $29.99 | 20,443 63% | 613k | $18M (exactly $18,392,567) | Donkey Crew |
| | IXION | older | $34.99 | 15,281 77% | 458k | $16M (exactly $16,040,466) | Bulwark Studios |
| | Endzone - A World Apart | older | $24.99 | 8,311 76% | 249k | $6.2M (exactly $6,230,757) | Gentlymad Studios |
| | Flotsam | $24.99 | 4,308 80% | 129k | $3.2M (exactly $3,229,708) | Pajama Llama Games | |
 | Rusty's Retirement | older | $6.99 | 13,902 96% | 417k | $2.9M (exactly $2,915,249) | Mister Morris Games |
 | Cliff Empire | older | $17.99 | 4,194 87% | 126k | $2.3M (exactly $2,263,502) | Lion's Shade |
 | Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation | older | $19.99 | 2,106 80% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,262,968) | Suncrash |
 | ALL WILL FALL | $29.99 | 1,262 76% | 38k | $1.1M (exactly $1,135,421) | All Parts Connected | |
 | The Walking Trade | $11.99 | 2,733 86% | 82k | $983k (exactly $983,060) | Microwave Games | |
 | Endzone 2 | $29.99 | 894 65% | 27k | $804k (exactly $804,332) | Gentlymad Studios | |
 | The Spotter: Dig or Die | $12.99 | 1,792 84% | 54k | $698k (exactly $698,342) | Puppyroar Games | |
 | Surviving the Abyss | $19.99 | 1,044 64% | 31k | $626k (exactly $626,087) | Rocket Flair Studios | |
 | Survive the Fall | $24.99 | 590 65% | 18k | $442k (exactly $442,323) | Angry Bulls Studio | |
 | Dustland Delivery | $7.99 | 1,264 88% | 38k | $303k (exactly $302,981) | Neutron Star Studio | |
 | Zombie Cure Lab | $24.99 | 393 65% | 12k | $295k (exactly $294,632) | Thera Bytes GmbH | |
 | STARIO: Haven Tower | · EA | $13.99 | 280 93% | 8.4k | $118k (exactly $117,516) | Stargate Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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