Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Female Protagonist

Of 170 developers who shipped a Female-Led 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.. 346 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×7.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $960; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2097 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 346 games are announced against 91 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 346 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 170
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.5k → $3.8k → $9.7k → $4.0k → $4.3k → $4.5k → $5.4k (still earning) → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 170
Bottom 30% $959 (exactly $959)
Median $4.5k (exactly $4,549)
Top 25% $35k (exactly $35,382)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,317,215)
Developers, 2 yr 170
Released games 543
Announced 346
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 85% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Female Protagonist
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Story Rich, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 178,763 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $960, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $35k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $960. 8 in 10 of the 96 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 346 games are announced against 91 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival Horror with a different setting or mood, 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
Resident Evil Requiem $69.99 106,931 95% 3.2M $225M (exactly $224,523,021) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Resident Evil 2 older $39.99 156,065 97% 4.7M $187M (exactly $187,231,180) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Resident Evil 3 older $39.99 90,117 84% 2.7M $108M (exactly $108,113,365) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Alien: Isolation older $39.99 48,591 92% 1.5M $58M (exactly $58,294,623) Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive (M… (Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
The Last of Us™ Part II Remastered $49.99 34,252 90% 1.0M $51M (exactly $51,367,724) Naughty Dog LLC, Nixxes Software, Iron… (Naughty Dog LLC, Nixxes Software, Iron Galaxy Studios)
SILENT HILL f $69.99 19,061 80% 572k $40M (exactly $40,022,382) NeoBards Entertainment Ltd.
Little Nightmares older $19.99 52,184 94% 1.6M $31M (exactly $31,294,745) Tarsier Studios
Resident Evil 6 older $19.99 51,420 77% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,836,574) Capcom
Resident Evil 5 older $19.99 48,521 87% 1.5M $29M (exactly $29,098,044) Capcom
Zombie Army Trilogy older $44.99 14,285 85% 429k $19M (exactly $19,280,464) Rebellion
FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE $49.99 2,663 87% 80k $4.0M (exactly $3,993,701) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Enigma of Fear $29.99 3,045 95% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) Dumativa, Cellbit
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead $29.99 2,331 74% 70k $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) Stormind Games
Tormented Souls 2 $29.99 1,675 88% 50k $1.5M (exactly $1,506,998) Dual Effect
Silly Polly Beast $19.99 2,278 90% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,366,117) Anji
Psychopomp GOLD $8.99 4,884 97% 147k $1.3M (exactly $1,317,215) Fading Club
Sorry We're Closed $24.99 1,643 98% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,231,757) à la mode games

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