Should I ship a Zombie Loot game?
Loot + Zombies
Of 63 developers who shipped a Zombie Loot 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.. 89 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.8k, ×7.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $880k, ×1412 the market median. Revenue is up 170% on the market; 89 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) |
| Top 25% | $47k (exactly $46,769) |
| Top 5% | $887k (exactly $886,956) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 63 |
| Released games | 151 |
| Announced | 89 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.90 |
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 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Loot; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Roguelike
- Price point
- $9.90 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.90.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 27,200 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 89 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Loot with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds
- + Local Co-OpStrong odds
- + SteampunkStrong odds
- + CapitalismFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + JRPGFair
- + EconomyFair
- + IdlerFair
- + CatsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + CollectathonFair
Comparable games
Deadzone: Rogue 2025 · $11M 
SurrounDead 2022 · EA · $8.8M 
DYSMANTLE 2021 · $6.6M 
DeadPoly 2022 · EA · $1.6M 
Deadly Days: Roadtrip 2025 · EA · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Deadzone: Rogue | $24.99 | 15,041 82% | 451k | $11M (exactly $11,276,238) | Prophecy Games | |
| | SurrounDead | · EA older | $11.99 | 24,538 91% | 736k | $8.8M (exactly $8,826,319) | Zurvivor |
| | DYSMANTLE | older | $19.99 | 11,022 91% | 331k | $6.6M (exactly $6,609,893) | 10tons Ltd |
| | DeadPoly | · EA older | $9.99 | 5,384 78% | 162k | $1.6M (exactly $1,613,585) | TFL Games |
| | Deadly Days: Roadtrip | · EA | $14.99 | 2,855 87% | 86k | $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894) | Pixelsplit |
 | R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program | $14.99 | 2,727 76% | 82k | $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) | WarmCore Studio | |
 | The Midnight Walkers | · EA | $19.99 | 1,479 54% | 44k | $887k (exactly $886,956) | Oneway Ticket Studio |
 | HELLGATE: London | older | $12.99 | 2,219 57% | 67k | $865k (exactly $864,744) | T3Entertainment |
 | GOD FORSAKEN | $13.99 | 1,728 67% | 52k | $725k (exactly $725,242) | insight studio | |
 | Dead Effect 2 | older | $11.99 | 1,920 73% | 58k | $691k (exactly $690,624) | BadFly Interactive, a.s. |
 | HexBreaker Ⅱ | $19.99 | 1,049 64% | 31k | $629k (exactly $629,085) | 灵煦工作室 | |
 | Darfall | $24.99 | 491 71% | 15k | $368k (exactly $368,103) | SquareNite | |
 | Another Try 2 | · EA | $6.99 | 1,000 53% | 30k | $210k (exactly $209,700) | Hoki Wolf Studio |
 | Dead Grid | $12.99 | 504 93% | 15k | $196k (exactly $196,409) | Atom Void | |
 | Kingdom of Night | $19.99 | 326 86% | 9.8k | $196k (exactly $195,502) | Friends of Safety |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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