Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Metroidvania

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Metroidvania Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Metroidvania

Only 14 developers shipped a Metroidvania Survival Horror 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, Kong: Survivor Instinct, 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 $14k, ×23 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $4.2k; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×404 the market median. Revenue is up 690% on the market; 46 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 22.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 690% on the market, 46 announced, ×6.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Metroidvania
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.0k → $600 → $4.2k → $19k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Metroidvania: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $4.2k (exactly $4,200)
Median $14k (exactly $14,390)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $27,525)
Top 5% $253k (exactly $253,399)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 45
Announced 46
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $10.99

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 690% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
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 Horror, Metroidvania
Price point
$10.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 851 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $4.2k, median $14k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $250k.

3 in 10 developers made under $4.2k. 8 in 10 of the 8 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 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
Rain World older $24.99 46,871 94% 1.4M $35M (exactly $35,139,189) Videocult
Stay Out of the House older $14.99 1,688 94% 51k $759k (exactly $759,094) Puppet Combo
Escape Dead Island older $14.99 1,261 60% 38k $567k (exactly $567,072) Fatshark
Kong: Survivor Instinct $24.99 338 71% 10k $253k (exactly $253,399) 7Levels
INFERNIUM older $29.99 167 64% 5.0k $150k (exactly $150,250) Carlos Coronado
Angel's Gear older $9.99 254 73% 7.6k $76k (exactly $76,124) Scumhead
REDO! older $9.99 214 86% 6.4k $64k (exactly $64,136) Robson Paiva
Dark Matter older $9.99 200 44% 6.0k $60k (exactly $59,940) InterWave Studios
The Lacerator $9.99 161 99% 4.8k $48k (exactly $48,252) Games From The Abyss
Halloween SEX Party [18+] older $6.99 142 77% 4.3k $30k (exactly $29,777) Romantic Room
The Island of Doctor Morose $9.99 93 95% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,872) Square Butterfly Interactive
SENARA: The Sacrament $17.99 51 74% 1.5k $28k (exactly $27,525) Influsion Inc.
VonGarland Castle : Beyond Blood $14.99 42 57% 1.3k $19k (exactly $18,887) Ash Jackson
HOPE 01 · EA $11.99 43 88% 1.3k $15k (exactly $15,467) Bending Boy Games
Creatures Of War $14.99 32 75% 960 $14k (exactly $14,390) Chaos Entertainment
HOMESICKNESS $5.99 64 92% 1.9k $12k (exactly $11,501) jnity, celesware
Phantom Bound $10.99 13 84% 390 $4.3k (exactly $4,286) Pixel Blight
Drealegy $10.00 14 64% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,200) ArcWillow

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