Games › Economy › Economy + Zombies
Should I ship a Zombie Economy game?
Economy + Zombies
Of 21 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 32 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $10k, ×16 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $2.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $690k, ×1112 the market median. Revenue is up 790% on the market; 32 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $2.3k (exactly $2,338) |
|---|---|
| Median | $10k (exactly $10,190) |
| Top 25% | $94k (exactly $93,946) |
| Top 5% | $698k (exactly $698,342) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 34 |
| Announced | 32 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 up 790% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Economy; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Survival, Management
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Dark Humor
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 7,804 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $2.4k. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 32 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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
The Walking Trade 2026 · $983k 
The Spotter: Dig or Die 2026 · $698k 
Dustland Delivery 2024 · $303k 
Zombie Cure Lab 2025 · $295k 
CURE - A Hospital Simulator 2025 · EA · $249k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Walking Trade | $11.99 | 2,733 86% | 82k | $983k (exactly $983,060) | Microwave Games | |
| | The Spotter: Dig or Die | $12.99 | 1,792 84% | 54k | $698k (exactly $698,342) | Puppyroar Games | |
| | 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 | |
| | CURE - A Hospital Simulator | · EA | $9.99 | 830 86% | 25k | $249k (exactly $248,751) | Sentinel Games |
 | Alek - The Lost Kingdom | · EA older | $19.99 | 392 76% | 12k | $235k (exactly $235,082) | Jessy Lemieux |
 | Grim Realms | older | $14.99 | 408 79% | 12k | $183k (exactly $183,478) | Edym Pixels |
 | Sex Shop Simulator: X-RAY DESIRE | $6.99 | 448 68% | 13k | $94k (exactly $93,946) | Doorway Games | |
 | Final Outpost: Definitive Edition | $9.99 | 208 76% | 6.2k | $62k (exactly $62,338) | Exabyte Games | |
 | Horror Tycoon | · EA older | $14.99 | 90 61% | 2.7k | $40k (exactly $40,473) | Smidge Games LLC |
 | Zombie Diner Simulator 🥩 💀 | $14.99 | 67 71% | 2.0k | $30k (exactly $30,130) | Octo Games studio | |
 | Dead 4 Now: Bio-Weapon Simulator | $14.99 | 29 75% | 870 | $13k (exactly $13,041) | d'Evo | |
 | Zombie Chef | $9.99 | 40 50% | 1.2k | $12k (exactly $11,988) | Voidy |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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