Games › Survival Horror › Survival Horror + Loot
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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Survival Horror with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVFair
- + DrivingFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + SnowFair
- + SportsFair
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
- + Boomer ShooterFair
- + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Spectacle fighterPoor odds
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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