Games › Outbreak Sim › Outbreak Sim + Post-apocalyptic
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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Outbreak Sim with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RTSFair
- + ZombiesFair
- + Real Time TacticsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Survival HorrorFair
- + Sci-fiLong shot
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + ManagementPoor odds
- + Resource ManagementPoor odds
- + Life SimPoor odds
- + Time ManagementPoor odds
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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