Do I ship it?

GamesSurvivalSurvival + Noir

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Noir Survival game?

Survival + Noir

Of 22 developers who shipped a Noir 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.. 39 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 $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $690k, ×1109 the market median. Revenue is up 90% on the market; 39 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 90% on the market, 39 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Noir
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $38k → $10k → $836 → $2.2k (still earning) → $2.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Noir: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,394)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $14,469)
Top 5% $697k (exactly $696,503)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 67
Announced 39
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 90% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Noir
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, PvP, Strategy
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Anime, Atmospheric
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 90% positive over 7,869 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $690k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deadlight older $14.99 9,386 78% 282k $4.2M (exactly $4,220,884) Tequila Works, S.L.
HENPRI $24.99 3,903 96% 117k $2.9M (exactly $2,926,079) Qruppo
OTXO older $14.99 3,303 93% 99k $1.5M (exactly $1,485,359) Lateralis Heavy Industries
DEATH NOTE Killer Within $9.99 2,324 84% 70k $697k (exactly $696,503) Grounding Inc.
Race The Sun older $9.99 1,974 93% 59k $592k (exactly $591,608) Flippfly LLC
Hell is Others older $14.99 991 73% 30k $446k (exactly $445,653) Strelka Games, Yonder
Final Sentence $9.99 1,095 84% 33k $328k (exactly $328,172) Button Mash
Hellbreach: Vegas older $14.99 504 74% 15k $227k (exactly $226,649) Infinity Ape Studios
White Night older $14.99 305 74% 9.2k $137k (exactly $137,158) OSome Studio
Hariti $6.99 318 88% 9.5k $67k (exactly $66,685) Ghostcase
Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire $19.99 41 70% 1.2k $25k (exactly $24,588) Schell Games
Cheater's Table · EA $6.99 69 95% 2.1k $14k (exactly $14,469) Lagari
Operator8 $6.99 50 82% 1.5k $10k (exactly $10,485) Aligned Games
Terminal 81R $4.99 41 95% 1.2k $6.1k (exactly $6,138) David Pateti
RAZE $9.99 14 100% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) RAZE CLUB
Housekeeper: Anomaly $5.99 14 100% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Alex Grim

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