Do I ship it?

Games › Survival Horror › Survival Horror + Modern

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Modern-Day Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Modern

Of 30 developers who shipped a Modern-Day Survival Horror 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.. 29 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $4.5k, ×7.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $820k, ×1314 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 29 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 29 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Modern
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $2.5k → $898 → $2.7k → $33k → $1.0k → $748 (still earning) → $35k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Modern: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $4.5k (exactly $4,498)
Top 25% $33k (exactly $32,984)
Top 5% $825k (exactly $825,187)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 65
Announced 29
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 down 90% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Modern
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 112,015 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $4.5k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $820k.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival Horror with a different setting or mood, 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

Resident Evil Requiem 2026 · $225M The Bridge Curse Road to Salvation 2022 · $1.8M Wicked Seed 2026 · $825k The Scourge | Tai Ương 2026 · $715k Last Remains 2025 · EA · $548k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Resident Evil Requiem $69.99 106,931 95% 3.2M $225M (exactly $224,523,021) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
The Bridge Curse Road to Salvation older $19.99 2,989 89% 90k $1.8M (exactly $1,792,503) SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
Wicked Seed $19.99 1,376 94% 41k $825k (exactly $825,187) Dead Right Games
The Scourge | Tai Ương $19.99 1,192 93% 36k $715k (exactly $714,842) Rare Reversee, Beaztek
Last Remains · EA $19.99 914 51% 27k $548k (exactly $548,126) Earn Alliance
Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque older $14.99 930 96% 28k $418k (exactly $418,221) Nidal Nijm Games
Obsideo · EA older $11.99 797 61% 24k $287k (exactly $286,681) Kyle's Garage
UNDERWARD $9.99 593 73% 18k $178k (exactly $177,722) INTENSE
Red Alliance older $11.99 265 78% 8.0k $95k (exactly $95,320) 2ndUp Studios
Hachishakusama | 八尺様がいた夏休み $7.44 388 94% 12k $87k (exactly $86,602) Fukachi World
BrokenLore: DON’T LIE $15.99 74 86% 2.2k $35k (exactly $35,498) Serafini Productions
Chasmal Fear $19.99 55 52% 1.7k $33k (exactly $32,984) MystiveDev
Jaden Williams' The Stalking Stairs $2.99 343 88% 10k $31k (exactly $30,767) Jaden Williams
?? Movie Theater $4.99 149 97% 4.5k $22k (exactly $22,305) riinwin

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