Do I ship it?

Games › Immersive Sim › Immersive Sim + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Immersive Sim?

Immersive Sim + Zombies

Of 59 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 68 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×1.8 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $980k, ×656 the market median. Revenue is up 740% on the market; 68 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 740% on the market, 68 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Immersive Sim + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 59
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $108k → $1.8k → $1.0k → $12k → $3.0k (still earning) → $6.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Immersive Sim + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 59
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $2.6k (exactly $2,637)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $27,525)
Top 5% $983k (exactly $983,060)
Developers, 2 yr 59
Released games 119
Announced 68
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 740% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Zombies
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 32,021 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $2.6k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $980k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 9 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Immersive Sim with a different setting or mood, 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

Bodycam 2024 · EA · $60M Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M Quarantine Zone: The Last Check 2026 · $7.1M VEIN 2025 · EA · $6.9M The Walking Trade 2026 · $983k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Bodycam · EA older $33.32 60,179 80% 1.8M $60M (exactly $60,154,928) Reissad Studio
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check $19.99 11,827 81% 355k $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) Brigada Games
VEIN · EA $19.99 11,539 87% 346k $6.9M (exactly $6,919,938) Ramjet Studios
The Walking Trade $11.99 2,733 86% 82k $983k (exactly $983,060) Microwave Games
DREADZONE · EA $24.99 1,180 51% 35k $885k (exactly $884,646) Eshed
SubZero $9.99 2,719 92% 82k $815k (exactly $814,884) Joy Media Limited
P.A.M.E.L.A.® older $24.99 846 58% 25k $634k (exactly $634,246) NVYVE® Studios
Rise of Gun older $12.99 1,094 84% 33k $426k (exactly $426,332) PimpGameStudio
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead older $19.99 537 86% 16k $322k (exactly $322,039) CleverRaven
CURE - A Hospital Simulator · EA $9.99 830 86% 25k $249k (exactly $248,751) Sentinel Games
SUFFOCATE $16.99 272 83% 8.2k $139k (exactly $138,638) Naughty Cow
FIRE STATE · EA $9.90 302 68% 9.1k $90k (exactly $89,694) UnderFire
Lustful Dead 🔞 $9.99 267 49% 8.0k $80k (exactly $80,020) BanzaiProject
Survivor's Notes $6.99 352 91% 11k $74k (exactly $73,814) MYSTERY CROWN, YESPLAY

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