Do I ship it?

GamesManagementManagement + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Management game?

Management + Zombies

Of 49 developers who shipped a Zombie Management 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.. 104 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.6k, ×7.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $980k, ×1565 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 104 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 55% on the market, 104 announced, ×3.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 49
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $32k → $17k → $183k → $3.6k → $42k → $10k → $13k (still earning) → $4.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 49
Bottom 30% $1.4k (exactly $1,438)
Median $4.6k (exactly $4,554)
Top 25% $90k (exactly $89,910)
Top 5% $983k (exactly $983,060)
Developers, 2 yr 49
Released games 125
Announced 104
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 55% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Zombies
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Base Building, Survival
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 29,144 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $4.6k, 1 in 4 over $89k, 1 in 20 over $980k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 6 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 104 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
They Are Billions older $29.99 46,223 85% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,586,833) Numantian Games
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check $19.99 11,827 81% 355k $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) Brigada Games
Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days · EA $24.99 9,049 89% 271k $6.8M (exactly $6,784,035) PikPok
Colony Survival · EA older $24.95 8,260 92% 248k $6.2M (exactly $6,182,610) Pipliz
Bio Inc. Redemption older $12.99 3,051 87% 92k $1.2M (exactly $1,188,975) DryGin Studios
KeeperRL older $19.99 1,677 83% 50k $1.0M (exactly $1,005,697) Electric Succubi
The Walking Trade $11.99 2,733 86% 82k $983k (exactly $983,060) Microwave Games
The Last Haven older $19.99 1,445 60% 43k $867k (exactly $866,566) Thunder Devs.
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations
Zombie Graveyard Simulator $14.99 805 89% 24k $362k (exactly $362,008) threeW
Dustland Delivery $7.99 1,264 88% 38k $303k (exactly $302,981) Neutron Star Studio
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
CURE - A Hospital Simulator · EA $9.99 830 86% 25k $249k (exactly $248,751) Sentinel Games
Keep Her Safe · EA $9.99 382 97% 11k $114k (exactly $114,485) Gugu Studio
After Long Night $9.99 381 72% 11k $114k (exactly $114,186) 疯狗工作室

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