Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Survival Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Survival Horror Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Survival Horror

Of 169 developers who shipped a Survival Horror Immersive Sim 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.. 308 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.5k, ×1.7 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $540k, ×361 the market median. Revenue is up 35% on the market; 308 games are announced against 100 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 308 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Survival Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 169
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.3k → $5.0k → $2.7k → $2.2k → $6.1k → $3.1k → $1.8k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Survival Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 169
Bottom 30% $598 (exactly $598)
Median $2.5k (exactly $2,516)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $22,305)
Top 5% $541k (exactly $540,534)
Developers, 2 yr 169
Released games 390
Announced 308
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.49

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 35% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Immersive Sim
effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
Survival Horror
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Immersive Sim, Survival Horror; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$5.49 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.49.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 81,357 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.5k, 1 in 4 over $22k, 1 in 20 over $540k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 84 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 308 games are announced against 100 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds112 devs · median $63k · 58 announced
  2. + Trading Card GameStrong odds18 devs · median $30k · 13 announced
  3. + MinigamesStrong odds15 devs · median $24k · 11 announced
  4. + WesternStrong odds17 devs · median $4.4k · 14 announced
  5. + BoxingStrong odds16 devs · median $2.7k · 12 announced
  6. + Job SimulatorFair152 devs · median $20k · 180 announced
  7. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $17k · 10 announced
  8. + Dating SimFair295 devs · median $13k · 296 announced
  9. + RomanceFair254 devs · median $12k · 266 announced
  10. + LGBTQ+Fair87 devs · median $11k · 93 announced
  11. + Visual NovelFair399 devs · median $7.8k · 453 announced
  12. + Split ScreenFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced

All 219 pairs on the Immersive Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Sons Of The Forest 2024 · $256M Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon 2025 · $45M Prey 2017 · $34M System Shock 2023 · $12M Pathologic 2 2019 · $10M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sons Of The Forest older $29.99 284,572 88% 8.5M $256M (exactly $256,029,428) Endnight Games Ltd
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon $44.99 33,560 87% 1.0M $45M (exactly $45,295,932) Questline
Prey older $29.99 37,759 90% 1.1M $34M (exactly $33,971,772) Arkane Studios
System Shock older $39.99 9,786 90% 294k $12M (exactly $11,740,264) Nightdive Studios
Pathologic 2 older $34.99 9,554 92% 287k $10M (exactly $10,028,834) Ice-Pick Lodge
MISERY $12.99 20,015 85% 600k $7.8M (exactly $7,799,846) Platypus Entertainment
Amnesia: The Bunker older $24.99 10,349 93% 310k $7.8M (exactly $7,758,645) Frictional Games
VEIN · EA $19.99 11,539 87% 346k $6.9M (exactly $6,919,938) Ramjet Studios
Atomfall $49.99 4,526 76% 136k $6.8M (exactly $6,787,642) Rebellion
Blood West older $24.99 6,132 90% 184k $4.6M (exactly $4,597,160) Hyperstrange
Project Silverfish · EA $29.99 3,138 93% 94k $2.8M (exactly $2,823,259) Siris Pendrake
Pathologic 3 $34.99 2,528 80% 76k $2.7M (exactly $2,653,642) Ice-Pick Lodge
Twisted Tower $14.99 1,827 93% 55k $822k (exactly $821,602) Atmos Games
DON'T SCREAM TOGETHER $7.99 2,314 49% 69k $555k (exactly $554,666) Digital Cybercherries
Beyond Hanwell $24.99 721 75% 22k $541k (exactly $540,534) Steel Arts Software Ltd
YKMET: Strade $14.99 1,189 98% 36k $535k (exactly $534,693) Gatobob

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