Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Futuristic

Of 46 developers who shipped a Futuristic 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.. 111 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $790k, ×1274 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 111 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 111 announced, ×5.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 46
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $3.1k → $4.5k → $2.9k → $748 → $3.8k → $7.2k (still earning) → $746 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 46
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 25% $9.9k (exactly $9,880)
Top 5% $800k (exactly $799,833)
Developers, 2 yr 46
Released games 123
Announced 111
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 down 55% on the market, supply 10% fewer 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 Horror
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Futuristic
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 Horror; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 60% positive over 26,514 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $9.8k, 1 in 20 over $790k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 111 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 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
The Callisto Protocol™ older $59.99 35,135 66% 1.1M $63M (exactly $63,232,460) Striking Distance Studios
Prey older $29.99 37,759 90% 1.1M $34M (exactly $33,971,772) Arkane Studios
Killing Floor 3 $39.99 16,493 46% 495k $20M (exactly $19,786,652) Tripwire Interactive
Call of Duty®: Ghosts older $39.99 12,976 66% 389k $16M (exactly $15,567,307) Infinity Ward
Dead Space™ 2 older $19.99 25,897 94% 777k $16M (exactly $15,530,431) Visceral Games
Cronos: The New Dawn $59.99 7,753 87% 233k $14M (exactly $13,953,074) Bloober Team
Dead Space (2008) older $19.99 22,890 92% 687k $14M (exactly $13,727,133) EA Redwood Shores
Dead Space™ 3 older $19.99 12,238 72% 367k $7.3M (exactly $7,339,129) Visceral Games
A.I.L.A $29.99 889 81% 27k $800k (exactly $799,833) Pulsatrix Studios
Hollowbody older $16.99 1,467 84% 44k $748k (exactly $747,730) Headware Games
UNDERWARD $9.99 593 73% 18k $178k (exactly $177,722) INTENSE
Werewolf: The Inner Beast $19.99 221 76% 6.6k $133k (exactly $132,534) FTRGameStudio
Unsafe Express $11.99 222 59% 6.7k $80k (exactly $79,853) OnSkull Games
Astrumis - Survive Together $9.99 139 70% 4.2k $42k (exactly $41,658) Tyci
Lily’s Labyrinth of Lust $9.99 81 48% 2.4k $24k (exactly $24,276) Erommersion Studios
THREAT -SCREAM AND ESCAPE- $8.99 73 83% 2.2k $20k (exactly $19,688) C-Route, HiBiGA
Synthesis of Corruption $8.99 50 84% 1.5k $13k (exactly $13,485) VidyGames

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