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Should I ship a Zombie Life Sim?
Life Sim + Zombies
Of 29 developers who shipped a Zombie Life 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.. 34 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $360. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 34 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.5k (exactly $1,485) |
| Top 25% | $30k (exactly $30,130) |
| Top 5% | $893k (exactly $893,157) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 55 |
| Announced | 34 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 170% on the market, supply 165% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Life Sim; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Management, Resource Management
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 17,188 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Life Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + MinigamesStrong odds
- + MusicStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Football (Soccer)Fair
- + FaithFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + GamblingFair
- + DemonsFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + LogicFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Quarantine Zone: The Last Check | $19.99 | 11,827 81% | 355k | $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) | Brigada Games | |
| | Monster Prom | older | $11.99 | 12,245 93% | 367k | $4.4M (exactly $4,404,526) | Beautiful Glitch |
| | Survival Log | $10.99 | 2,709 82% | 81k | $893k (exactly $893,157) | Midnight Workshop | |
| | Rise of Gun | older | $12.99 | 1,094 84% | 33k | $426k (exactly $426,332) | PimpGameStudio |
| | Zombie Graveyard Simulator | $14.99 | 805 89% | 24k | $362k (exactly $362,008) | threeW | |
| | CURE - A Hospital Simulator | · EA | $9.99 | 830 86% | 25k | $249k (exactly $248,751) | Sentinel Games |
| | Apocalypse with Femboy | $12.99 | 439 89% | 13k | $171k (exactly $171,078) | Pout Honey | |
| | DRUDGE | · EA | $12.99 | 139 94% | 4.2k | $54k (exactly $54,168) | Writegg |
| | ZOMBUTCHER: Monster Business Simulator | $12.99 | 135 69% | 4.1k | $53k (exactly $52,610) | ODIUS | |
| | Zombie Diner Simulator 🥩 💀 | $14.99 | 67 71% | 2.0k | $30k (exactly $30,130) | Octo Games studio | |
| | Security: The Horrible Nights | $4.99 | 163 88% | 4.9k | $24k (exactly $24,401) | Professional Villains | |
| | Quarantine Zombies: Contamination | $9.99 | 74 48% | 2.2k | $22k (exactly $22,178) | Stones Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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