Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Inventory Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Inventory Management Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Inventory Management

Of 121 developers who shipped an Inventory Management 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.. 270 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×418 the market median. Revenue is up 585% on the market; 270 games are announced against 84 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 585% on the market, 270 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Inventory Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 121
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $10k → $1.0k → $4.5k → $748 → $898 → $2.4k → $2.7k (still earning) → $2.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Inventory Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 121
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $15,467)
Top 5% $262k (exactly $262,290)
Developers, 2 yr 121
Released games 217
Announced 270
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 585% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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
Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

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, Inventory Management; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 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 $18.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 114,530 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $260k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 9 in 10 of the 40 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 270 games are announced against 84 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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
Resident Evil Requiem $69.99 106,931 95% 3.2M $225M (exactly $224,523,021) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Resident Evil 4 (2005) older $19.99 78,502 94% 2.4M $47M (exactly $47,077,649) Capcom
DREDGE older $24.99 47,624 95% 1.4M $36M (exactly $35,703,713) Black Salt Games
Blood West older $24.99 6,132 90% 184k $4.6M (exactly $4,597,160) Hyperstrange
Daymare: 1998 older $29.99 3,445 69% 103k $3.1M (exactly $3,099,466) Invader Studios
Tormented Souls 2 $29.99 1,675 88% 50k $1.5M (exactly $1,506,998) Dual Effect
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters older $14.99 2,810 95% 84k $1.3M (exactly $1,263,657) Dvora Studio Co., Ltd.
Haydee 2 older $24.99 1,649 87% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,236,255) Haydee Interactive
CONSCRIPT: Director’s Cut older $19.99 1,998 90% 60k $1.2M (exactly $1,198,201) Jordan Mochi, Catchweight Studio
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Clawed $19.99 729 52% 22k $437k (exactly $437,181) Flatrock Games
UMIGARI | ウミガリ $12.99 1,029 82% 31k $401k (exactly $401,001) Chilla's Art
Blood Typers $12.49 912 94% 27k $342k (exactly $341,726) Outer Brain Studios
Iron Blight $12.49 700 93% 21k $262k (exactly $262,290) Ronesans Interactive
Post Trauma $14.99 574 72% 17k $258k (exactly $258,128) RED SOUL GAMES
Backrooms Lost Runners · EA $13.99 592 75% 18k $248k (exactly $248,462) ShimStudioGames
Skinfreak $12.99 383 86% 11k $149k (exactly $149,255) Black Eyed Priest

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