Do I ship it?

GamesSurvivalSurvival + Local Multiplayer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Survival game?

Survival + Local Multiplayer

Of 43 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer Survival 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.. 61 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $21k, ×34 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 61 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 61 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Local Multiplayer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $119 → $1.9k → $1.3k → $4.0k → $1.3k → $1.7k → $839 (still earning) → $538 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Local Multiplayer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $7.3k (exactly $7,302)
Top 5% $21k (exactly $21,136)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 177
Announced 61
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.25

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 85% on the market, supply 105% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Local Multiplayer
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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, Local Multiplayer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Co-Op, Online Co-Op
Price point
$5.25 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.25.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 2,413 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $900, 1 in 4 over $7.3k, 1 in 20 over $21k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds14 devs · median $74k · 10 announced
  2. + Social DeductionFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  4. + CatsFair33 devs · median $1.2k · 34 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair77 devs · median $1.0k · 84 announced
  6. + IdlerFair96 devs · median $836 · 99 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair79 devs · median $807 · 90 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair101 devs · median $599 · 130 announced
  9. + DogsFair20 devs · median $535 · 19 announced
  10. + Martial ArtsLong shot19 devs · median $419 · 17 announced
  11. + Boomer ShooterLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced

All 234 pairs on the Survival page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Among Us older $4.99 659,003 92% 20M $99M (exactly $98,652,749) Innersloth
Kingdom Two Crowns older $19.99 31,259 90% 938k $19M (exactly $18,746,022) Fury Studios, Coatsink
Unrailed! older $19.99 13,789 93% 414k $8.3M (exactly $8,269,263) Indoor Astronaut
Distance older $24.99 5,832 93% 175k $4.4M (exactly $4,372,250) Refract
Contagion older $9.99 10,042 75% 301k $3.0M (exactly $3,009,587) Monochrome, Inc
LEGO® STAR WARS™: The Force Awakens older $19.99 4,131 81% 124k $2.5M (exactly $2,477,361) Traveller's Tales, TT Games, Feral Inte… (Traveller's Tales, TT Games, Feral Interactive (Mac))
Unrailed 2: Back on Track $19.99 1,794 88% 54k $1.1M (exactly $1,075,862) Indoor Astronaut
Crimsonland older $13.99 2,107 94% 63k $884k (exactly $884,308) 10tons Ltd
BADLAND: Game of the Year Edition older $9.99 2,801 86% 84k $839k (exactly $839,460) Frogmind
Yet Another Zombie Defense HD older $3.99 2,561 84% 77k $307k (exactly $306,552) Awesome Games Studio
I'm No Demonlord $8.99 163 84% 4.9k $44k (exactly $43,961) NiaoWu Studio
Monarchy $14.99 47 78% 1.4k $21k (exactly $21,136) Brain Seal Ltd
Raise Your Tribe · EA $9.99 57 52% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,083) Primeval Forest Studios
Mimicry! $9.99 45 97% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) Wayward Skies Studio
Kickback: Shoot to Move! 👾 $6.99 59 100% 1.8k $12k (exactly $12,372) Dot blood
Orange Roulette $2.99 132 96% 4.0k $12k (exactly $11,840) Mikey Houser
Forest of Deceit $9.99 35 100% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Ghost Camp
Soviet Survival · EA $4.99 68 75% 2.0k $10k (exactly $10,180) Hunt Studio
No Heroes Here 2 $19.99 13 61% 390 $7.8k (exactly $7,796) Mad Mimic

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