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Should I ship a Zombie Investigation game?
Investigation + Zombies
Of 26 developers who shipped a Zombie Investigation game 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.. 45 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×548 the market median. Revenue is up 260% on the market; 45 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) |
| Top 25% | $4.8k (exactly $4,836) |
| Top 5% | $344k (exactly $344,020) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 26 |
| Released games | 72 |
| Announced | 45 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 260% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Investigation
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Zombies
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Investigation; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Survival Horror, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 3,903 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Investigation with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Escape RoomFair
- + IdlerFair
- + TriviaLong shot
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
- + GothicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Card GamePoor odds
- + SciencePoor odds
Comparable games
Whisper Mountain Outbreak 2025 · EA · $580k 
Lunar Eclipse 2025 · EA · $344k 
Eville 2022 · $195k 
Infinite Lives 2025 · $98k 
Deadness 2022 · $71k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Whisper Mountain Outbreak | · EA | $7.99 | 2,421 84% | 73k | $580k (exactly $580,314) | Toge Productions |
| | Lunar Eclipse | · EA | $14.99 | 765 82% | 23k | $344k (exactly $344,020) | Black Rabbit's Tales |
| | Eville | older | $14.99 | 433 68% | 13k | $195k (exactly $194,720) | VestGames |
| | Infinite Lives | $14.99 | 217 76% | 6.5k | $98k (exactly $97,585) | MDickie | |
| | Deadness | older | $19.99 | 119 77% | 3.6k | $71k (exactly $71,364) | ALIEN studio |
 | DRUDGE | · EA | $12.99 | 139 94% | 4.2k | $54k (exactly $54,168) | Writegg |
 | Family curse | older | $6.99 | 222 90% | 6.7k | $47k (exactly $46,553) | Stork Game |
 | Evil Awaits™ | $16.99 | 49 75% | 1.5k | $25k (exactly $24,975) | Chai Games | |
 | Security: The Horrible Nights | $4.99 | 163 88% | 4.9k | $24k (exactly $24,401) | Professional Villains | |
 | Zombie Police: Christmas Dancing with Police Zombies | older | $12.99 | 57 87% | 1.7k | $22k (exactly $22,213) | ALTERCIWS, Lobstudio |
 | Corporate Suck Up | $1.99 | 81 97% | 2.4k | $4.8k (exactly $4,836) | actpng | |
 | DayOff: Moonriver incident | $6.99 | 23 91% | 690 | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) | jetzackgames | |
 | Halloween Secrets: The Blood Vow Collector's Edition | $11.99 | 12 33% | 360 | $4.3k (exactly $4,316) | Do Games Limited | |
 | The Fox Hare Disaster: Chapter One | $3.99 | 33 96% | 990 | $4.0k (exactly $3,950) | Dream Oni, Cosmic Boop, Valorware |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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