Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Hidden Object

Of 218 developers who shipped a Hidden Object 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.. 236 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $86k, ×138 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 236 games are announced against 113 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 236 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 218
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $1.3k → $1.3k → $2.2k → $987 → $599 → $897 (still earning) → $475 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 218
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,596)
Top 5% $87k (exactly $86,602)
Developers, 2 yr 218
Released games 598
Announced 236
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 50% on the market, supply as many developers as 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
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

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, Hidden Object; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 8,626 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 $750, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $86k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 132 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 236 games are announced against 113 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival Horror with a different second tag, 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
35MM older $8.99 3,508 71% 105k $946k (exactly $946,108) Носков Сергей
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Emissary Zero $8.99 2,683 83% 80k $724k (exactly $723,605) Rone Vine
GYLT older $19.99 907 95% 27k $544k (exactly $543,928) Haven Media, Parallel Circles
[Chilla's Art] The Closing Shift | 閉店事件 older $5.99 2,963 87% 89k $532k (exactly $532,451) Chilla's Art
Granny: Escape Together $9.99 1,661 79% 50k $498k (exactly $497,802) CreepyToad
IMSCARED older $3.99 3,464 95% 104k $415k (exactly $414,641) Ivan Zanotti's MyMadnessWorks
Prehistoric Hunt · EA older $17.99 678 84% 20k $366k (exactly $365,917) Antiproto Studios
Lunar Eclipse · EA $14.99 765 82% 23k $344k (exactly $344,020) Black Rabbit's Tales
True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 1 older $8.99 1,108 92% 33k $299k (exactly $298,828) Goblinz Enterprises Ltd
True Fear: Forsaken Souls Part 3 $9.99 650 92% 20k $195k (exactly $194,805) Goblinz Enterprises Ltd
10 Dead Doves $24.99 195 88% 5.9k $146k (exactly $146,192) Duonix Studios, Mark Byram II, Sean-Mic… (Duonix Studios, Mark Byram II, Sean-Michael Millard)
BodyRecords · EA $6.99 581 70% 17k $122k (exactly $121,836) MIROWIN
CAPTURED $6.45 627 95% 19k $121k (exactly $121,324) Puck Redflix
Don't Be Afraid 2 $16.99 201 71% 6.0k $102k (exactly $102,450) Eneida Games, Cat-astrophe Games
The Last FARMER $12.99 258 56% 7.7k $101k (exactly $100,543) Geekon

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