Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Idler

Only 9 developers shipped an Idler Survival Horror in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, 5 NIGHTS AT SHALUN 4: SCHOOL, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $3.1k against a market of $630. 15 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 5.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 305% on the market, 15 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.1k → $2.2k → $7.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Median $3.1k (exactly $3,144)
Top 25% $7.1k (exactly $7,128)
Top 5% $32k (exactly $31,940)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 42
Announced 15
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 up 305% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

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, Idler
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 2,527 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.2k, median $3.1k, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $31k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.2k. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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
Road Maintenance Simulator older $24.99 159 57% 4.8k $119k (exactly $119,202) Caipirinha Games
Joyville older $9.99 331 69% 9.9k $99k (exactly $99,201) KudPlay Games
KUNKUN Defender older $2.99 822 97% 25k $74k (exactly $73,733) Seal
Rabbit Hole older $7.99 264 78% 7.9k $63k (exactly $63,281) Nikita Ustinov, Nikolay Lazarev
5 NIGHTS AT SHALUN 4: SCHOOL $1.99 535 93% 16k $32k (exactly $31,940) Team GZ, VADIM CHURILOV
Escape From Monster older $4.99 206 70% 6.2k $31k (exactly $30,838) Thunder Games
Mental Hospital VR older $9.99 60 70% 1.8k $18k (exactly $17,982) Igor Migun
Kittens Game · EA $7.99 72 94% 2.2k $17k (exactly $17,258) Nuclear Unicorn
Fire Place older $4.99 68 52% 2.0k $10k (exactly $10,180) Kevin Maxon, Michael Bell, Pol Clarisso… (Kevin Maxon, Michael Bell, Pol Clarissou, Zoe Vartanian, Galen Drew)
Lost Scale: Part One older $24.99 10 90% 300 $7.5k (exactly $7,497) Danicy
Your Friend's Mom $0.99 240 72% 7.2k $7.1k (exactly $7,128) nordska
Fatal Pursuit $4.99 30 86% 900 $4.5k (exactly $4,491) Oleksii Murashko
Slenderman: Shadow of the Forest $4.99 21 38% 630 $3.1k (exactly $3,144) BugTeam
Backrooms: Multiverse · EA $10.00 9 77% 270 $2.7k (exactly $2,700) Misconcepter
Mist $5.99 12 75% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) Euphoria Games
Sect House $0.99 30 60% 900 $891 (exactly $891) Fireplay Studio
Glass Monsters $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) SMAR Studio

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