Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Loot

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Loot Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Loot

Of 48 developers who shipped a Loot 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.. 63 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $1.0M, ×1710 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 63 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 63 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Loot
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 48
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $14k → $6.6k → $3.2k → $48k → $7.0k → $718 → $449 (still earning) → $5.3k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Loot: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 48
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,398)
Top 25% $48k (exactly $47,652)
Top 5% $1.1M (exactly $1,073,676)
Developers, 2 yr 48
Released games 97
Announced 63
Effort 6 / 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 down 60% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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 Horror, Loot; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 29,062 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $47k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 63 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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
ZERO Sievert $19.99 14,378 84% 431k $8.6M (exactly $8,622,487) CABO Studio
Burglin' Gnomes $9.99 4,635 83% 139k $1.4M (exactly $1,389,110) Fobri
Murky Divers $8.99 3,981 87% 119k $1.1M (exactly $1,073,676) Embers
Witch Hunt older $9.99 2,291 88% 69k $687k (exactly $686,613) Gua
GRAIN ROT $9.99 1,845 88% 55k $553k (exactly $552,946) Beck & Branch Games
Granny: Escape Together $9.99 1,661 79% 50k $498k (exactly $497,802) CreepyToad
Granny Remake older $6.99 2,154 82% 65k $452k (exactly $451,694) FerriteLabs
Skinwalker Hunt older $12.99 790 91% 24k $308k (exactly $307,863) Gua
A-Tech Cybernetic VR older $14.99 552 65% 17k $248k (exactly $248,234) XREAL Games
Tower of Kalemonvo $14.99 453 83% 14k $204k (exactly $203,714) osur
UNDERWARD $9.99 593 73% 18k $178k (exactly $177,722) INTENSE
PIT OF GOBLIN · EA $5.99 915 84% 27k $164k (exactly $164,426) Friendly Foe
Pirates VR: Jolly Roger $19.99 212 76% 6.4k $127k (exactly $127,136) Split Light Studio
Midnight Heist $9.99 389 92% 12k $117k (exactly $116,583) MediaTale

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