Do I ship it?

Games › Survival › Survival + Metroidvania

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Metroidvania Survival game?

Survival + Metroidvania

Only 15 developers shipped a Metroidvania Survival game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 46 more are announced, ×6.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×4.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $3.6M, ×5781 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 46 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 46 announced, ×6.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Metroidvania
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $18k → $119 → $1.3k → $14k → $3.0k → $93k → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Metroidvania: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 25% $93k (exactly $92,828)
Top 5% $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 54
Announced 46
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 70% on the market, supply 15% fewer 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.

Survival
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Metroidvania
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, Metroidvania; all of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Platformer
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Comedy
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 12,860 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 $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $92k, 1 in 20 over $3.6M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.6 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

Rain World 2017 · $35M Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree 2025 · $3.6M Haydee 2016 · $2.8M Lost Ruins 2021 · $2.8M Revenge of the Savage Planet 2025 · $2.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Rain World older $24.99 46,871 94% 1.4M $35M (exactly $35,139,189) Videocult
Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree $39.99 3,026 75% 91k $3.6M (exactly $3,630,292) Primal Game Studio
Haydee older $14.99 6,226 84% 187k $2.8M (exactly $2,799,832) Haydee Interactive
Lost Ruins older $19.99 4,643 86% 139k $2.8M (exactly $2,784,407) ALTARI GAMES
Revenge of the Savage Planet $29.99 2,845 86% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,559,646) Raccoon Logic Studios Inc.
Öoo $9.99 6,575 99% 197k $2.0M (exactly $1,970,528) NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuy… (NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi)
Escape Dead Island older $14.99 1,261 60% 38k $567k (exactly $567,072) Fatshark
INFERNIUM older $29.99 167 64% 5.0k $150k (exactly $150,250) Carlos Coronado
Kentum $17.99 172 75% 5.2k $93k (exactly $92,828) Tlön Industries
Castaway older $7.99 264 73% 7.9k $63k (exactly $63,281) Canari Games
The Lacerator $9.99 161 99% 4.8k $48k (exactly $48,252) Games From The Abyss
Creatures Of War $14.99 32 75% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) Chaos Entertainment
Star Mission: Remote Sectors $9.99 10 80% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Ralph Schaedler
Nauts $8.99 10 100% 300 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) Jorge A. García González, Carlos Álvare… (Jorge A. García González, Carlos Álvarez-Nava González)
SNOWY MEMORIES $4.99 15 100% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) quan home
Slashboy $1.99 14 92% 420 $836 (exactly $836) Punch Game Project

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