Games › Survival › Survival + Modern
Should I ship a Modern-Day Survival game?
Survival + Modern
Of 41 developers who shipped a Modern-Day Survival 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.. 65 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $52k, ×83 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 65 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $2.0k (exactly $1,973) |
| Top 5% | $52k (exactly $52,165) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 113 |
| Announced | 65 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Survival; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Realistic, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 15,662 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. All of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 65 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Survival with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Social DeductionFair
- + Word GameFair
- + CatsFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + DogsFair
- + Martial ArtsLong shot
- + Boomer ShooterLong shot
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Gray Zone Warfare | · EA older | $39.99 | 69,146 72% | 2.1M | $83M (exactly $82,954,456) | MADFINGER Games, a.s. |
| | Yet Another Zombie Survivors | $14.99 | 14,123 91% | 424k | $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) | Awesome Games Studio | |
| | Green Hell VR | older | $19.99 | 1,143 57% | 34k | $685k (exactly $685,457) | Incuvo |
| | Blood Money: Lethal Eden | $8.99 | 1,262 91% | 38k | $340k (exactly $340,361) | 碧火互娱 | |
| | Paradise | older | $19.99 | 561 90% | 17k | $336k (exactly $336,432) | PIL/SLASH |
| | Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead | older | $19.99 | 537 86% | 16k | $322k (exactly $322,039) | CleverRaven |
| | AXYOS | older | $4.99 | 1,629 52% | 49k | $244k (exactly $243,861) | Axyos Games |
| | Offroad Mechanic Simulator | older | $19.99 | 238 71% | 7.1k | $143k (exactly $142,729) | Image Power S.A., GameFormatic S.A. |
| | Red Alliance | older | $11.99 | 265 78% | 8.0k | $95k (exactly $95,320) | 2ndUp Studios |
| | After the Collapse | older | $14.99 | 201 77% | 6.0k | $90k (exactly $90,390) | Anarkis Gaming |
| | Oops.. Where's My Bikini?! 👙🔥 | $14.99 | 116 77% | 3.5k | $52k (exactly $52,165) | Dirty Adventures 🖤 | |
| | Chasmal Fear | $19.99 | 55 52% | 1.7k | $33k (exactly $32,984) | MystiveDev | |
| | Lost Paws | $19.99 | 18 94% | 540 | $11k (exactly $10,795) | Dungeoneering Studios | |
| | Breakfall: Nuclear Winter | · EA | $17.99 | 7 28% | 210 | $3.8k (exactly $3,778) | Dominik Geuer |
| | Hapunan | $3.99 | 30 90% | 900 | $3.6k (exactly $3,591) | YIKON GAMES INC | |
| | 逐末之地:60s Exploring the Endless Land:60s | · EA | $6.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) | Dreamy_Chat |
| | Yakiniku Party Survival | $2.99 | 27 92% | 810 | $2.4k (exactly $2,422) | KIMIDORI SOFT | |
| | Just Eat The Rich | $6.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $2.1k (exactly $2,097) | Birdman |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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