Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Interactive Fiction

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Interactive Fiction Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Interactive Fiction

Of 86 developers who shipped an Interactive Fiction 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.. 149 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $87k, ×140 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 149 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 149 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Interactive Fiction
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 86
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.1k → $1.2k → $1.5k → $2.0k → $1.0k → $4.7k → $958 (still earning) → $360 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Interactive Fiction: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 86
Bottom 30% $360 (exactly $360)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,080)
Top 25% $5.9k (exactly $5,933)
Top 5% $88k (exactly $87,692)
Developers, 2 yr 86
Released games 254
Announced 149
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 20% on the market, supply 10% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Survival Horror
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Interactive Fiction
effort 1 / 10 · high · prose plus a state machine

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, Interactive Fiction; 3 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Visual Novel, Multiple Endings
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Dark, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 15,015 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $87k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 53 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 149 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs older $19.99 7,236 69% 217k $4.3M (exactly $4,339,429) The Chinese Room
Shift At Midnight $9.99 10,147 88% 304k $3.0M (exactly $3,041,056) Bun Muen
Your Turn To Die -Death Game By Majority- · EA older $16.99 4,122 97% 124k $2.1M (exactly $2,100,983) Nankidai
Forbidden Solitaire $15.99 2,245 96% 67k $1.1M (exactly $1,076,926) Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertai… (Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertainment)
Murder House older $11.99 2,094 95% 63k $753k (exactly $753,212) Puppet Combo
YKMET: Strade $14.99 1,189 98% 36k $535k (exactly $534,693) Gatobob
The Price Of Flesh older $14.99 1,038 96% 31k $467k (exactly $466,789) Gatobob
Death Come True older $15.99 904 76% 27k $434k (exactly $433,649) IzanagiGames, Too Kyo Games, ESQUADRA,i… (IzanagiGames, Too Kyo Games, ESQUADRA,inc.)
The Test: Final Revelation older $1.99 5,286 97% 159k $316k (exactly $315,574) Randumb Studios
Bloodwash older $7.99 1,215 92% 36k $291k (exactly $291,236) Black Eyed Priest, Henry Hoare
DYSTHANASIA $24.99 334 88% 10k $250k (exactly $250,400) Madowaku Kobo
Project Songbird $14.99 195 85% 5.9k $88k (exactly $87,692) FYRE Games, Conner Rush
Heart of the Forest $12.99 202 70% 6.1k $79k (exactly $78,719) Trapped Predator
Back:Fade $6.99 191 76% 5.7k $40k (exactly $40,053) MYSTERY CROWN
Mycopsychosys: Remastered $4.99 231 97% 6.9k $35k (exactly $34,581) DeltaCat Studio
欢迎来到林葬屋 $6.99 148 75% 4.4k $31k (exactly $31,036) MYSTERY CROWN, 火蜥蜴文化
林葬屋前传:冥声 $6.99 133 83% 4.0k $28k (exactly $27,890) MYSTERY CROWN, 火蜥蜴文化

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