Games › Survival › Survival + Mythology
Should I ship a Mythological Survival game?
Survival + Mythology
Of 58 developers who shipped a Mythological 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.. 118 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $1.7M, ×2764 the market median. Revenue is up 460% on the market; 118 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $239 (exactly $239) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,166) |
| Top 25% | $35k (exactly $35,365) |
| Top 5% | $1.7M (exactly $1,735,521) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 58 |
| Released games | 144 |
| Announced | 118 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 460% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Open World, Action, Adventure
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 489,181 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 118 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Valheim | $29.99 | 464,893 94% | 14M | $418M (exactly $418,264,232) | Iron Gate AB | |
| | Soulmask | $29.99 | 18,445 76% | 553k | $17M (exactly $16,594,966) | CampFire Studio | |
| | Amazing Cultivation Simulator | older | $24.99 | 19,111 85% | 573k | $14M (exactly $14,327,517) | GSQ Games |
| | Strange Brigade | older | $49.99 | 8,309 84% | 249k | $12M (exactly $12,461,007) | Rebellion |
| | Tribes of Midgard | older | $19.99 | 17,465 76% | 524k | $10M (exactly $10,473,760) | Norsfell |
| | The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope | older | $19.99 | 7,202 74% | 216k | $4.3M (exactly $4,319,039) | Supermassive Games |
| | Praey for the Gods | older | $29.99 | 2,489 82% | 75k | $2.2M (exactly $2,239,353) | No Matter Studios |
| | Thea: The Awakening | older | $19.99 | 3,318 87% | 100k | $2.0M (exactly $1,989,805) | MuHa Games |
| | The Legend of Khiimori | · EA | $29.99 | 1,929 82% | 58k | $1.7M (exactly $1,735,521) | Aesir Interactive, NightinGames |
| | Land of the Vikings | older | $25.99 | 1,960 72% | 59k | $1.5M (exactly $1,528,212) | Laps Games |
| | YAR: Forgotten Throne | $19.99 | 1,283 89% | 38k | $769k (exactly $769,415) | Honor Games | |
| | Folklore Hunter | $17.99 | 1,217 75% | 37k | $657k (exactly $656,815) | Liquid Donkey Games | |
| | Night is Coming | · EA | $24.99 | 387 59% | 12k | $290k (exactly $290,134) | Wild Forest Studio |
| | Stack to Ascension | $12.99 | 331 54% | 9.9k | $129k (exactly $128,991) | Stack to Ascension | |
| | Cultivation Magic World | · EA | $12.99 | 276 78% | 8.3k | $108k (exactly $107,557) | DMG Studio |
| | These Doomed Isles | $14.99 | 180 66% | 5.4k | $81k (exactly $80,946) | Triplevision Games Limited | |
| | Ancient Cultivatrix | $8.99 | 240 67% | 7.2k | $65k (exactly $64,728) | 五条虾仁(5 shrimps) |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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