Do I ship it?

GamesOutbreak SimOutbreak Sim + Post-apocalyptic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Post-apocalyptic Outbreak Sim?

Outbreak Sim + Post-apocalyptic

Of 35 developers who shipped a Post-apocalyptic Outbreak Sim 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.. 61 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $790k, ×1272 the market median. Revenue is up 130% on the market; 61 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 130% on the market, 61 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Outbreak Sim + Post-apocalyptic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $1.1k → $776 → $449 → $3.5k → $629 → $13k (still earning) → $30k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Outbreak Sim + Post-apocalyptic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $629 (exactly $629)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,158)
Top 25% $74k (exactly $73,814)
Top 5% $799k (exactly $798,756)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 79
Announced 61
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 135% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Outbreak Sim
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Post-apocalyptic
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Outbreak Sim; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, RPG, Resource Management
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 6,580 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $73k, 1 in 20 over $790k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 61 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Outbreak Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RTSFair16 devs · median $2.6k · 14 announced
  2. + ZombiesFair45 devs · median $1.9k · 49 announced
  3. + Real Time TacticsFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 14 announced
  4. + Walking SimulatorFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  5. + Survival HorrorFair22 devs · median $958 · 24 announced
  6. + Sci-fiLong shot15 devs · median $270 · 20 announced
  7. + City BuilderPoor odds10 devs · median $16k · 16 announced
  8. + Base BuildingPoor odds22 devs · median $13k · 30 announced
  9. + ManagementPoor odds26 devs · median $10k · 45 announced
  10. + Resource ManagementPoor odds24 devs · median $10k · 43 announced
  11. + Life SimPoor odds16 devs · median $6.1k · 26 announced
  12. + Time ManagementPoor odds12 devs · median $4.3k · 19 announced

All 41 pairs on the Outbreak Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Plague Inc: Evolved older $14.99 59,205 94% 1.8M $27M (exactly $26,624,488) Ndemic Creations
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
60 Seconds! Reatomized older $9.99 18,362 94% 551k $5.5M (exactly $5,503,091) Robot Gentleman
60 Seconds! older $8.99 10,491 84% 315k $2.8M (exactly $2,829,423) Robot Gentleman
ZED ZONE · EA older $11.99 3,506 81% 105k $1.3M (exactly $1,261,108) Leven Liu
Bio Inc. Redemption older $12.99 3,051 87% 92k $1.2M (exactly $1,188,975) DryGin Studios
Survival Log $10.99 2,709 82% 81k $893k (exactly $893,157) Midnight Workshop
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations
Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville older $14.99 1,486 86% 45k $668k (exactly $668,254) Northway Games, Sarah Northway
Infectonator 3: Apocalypse older $12.99 1,250 83% 38k $487k (exactly $487,125) Toge Productions
Project L33T: Founders Edition $19.99 525 47% 16k $315k (exactly $314,842) Targetpoint Interactive, Holmgard Games
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
SLEEP AWAKE $29.99 164 71% 4.9k $148k (exactly $147,551) EYES OUT, LLC.
Afterinfection $8.99 463 56% 14k $125k (exactly $124,871) RePatrick21
Extinction Day $19.99 206 74% 6.2k $124k (exactly $123,538) DryGin Studios
Infinite Lives $14.99 217 76% 6.5k $98k (exactly $97,585) MDickie
Survivor's Notes $6.99 352 91% 11k $74k (exactly $73,814) MYSTERY CROWN, YESPLAY
Colonies of The Remnant · EA $13.99 71 7% 2.1k $30k (exactly $29,799) Cat Soul Studios

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