Do I ship it?

GamesPvEPvE + Outbreak Sim

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Outbreak Sim?

PvE + Outbreak Sim

Only 14 developers shipped a PvE Outbreak Sim in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, No More Room in Hell 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 23 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $15M, ×23961 the market median. Revenue is up 125% on the market; 23 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 125% on the market, 23 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
PvE + Outbreak Sim
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for PvE + Outbreak Sim: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $719 (exactly $719)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,851)
Top 25% $30k (exactly $29,799)
Top 5% $15M (exactly $15,047,482)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 33
Announced 23
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 125% on the market, supply 265% more 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack
Outbreak Sim
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
PvE, Outbreak Sim
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 63% positive over 17,511 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $720, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $29k, 1 in 20 over $15M.

3 in 10 developers made under $720. 23 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  2. + IdlerFair161 devs · median $1.0k · 229 announced
  3. + MinigamesFair9 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  4. + TypingFair23 devs · median $719 · 27 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds44 devs · median $163k · 97 announced
  6. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds50 devs · median $85k · 120 announced
  7. + HeistPoor odds18 devs · median $30k · 50 announced
  8. + MMORPGPoor odds34 devs · median $25k · 248 announced
  9. + Real-TimePoor odds10 devs · median $20k · 24 announced
  10. + NavalPoor odds21 devs · median $11k · 59 announced
  11. + SpaceshipsPoor odds16 devs · median $6.3k · 20 announced
  12. + MarsPoor odds10 devs · median $6.3k · 13 announced

All 243 pairs on the PvE page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
No More Room in Hell 2 $29.99 16,725 62% 502k $15M (exactly $15,047,482) Torn Banner Studios
Calyx · EA $24.99 471 88% 14k $353k (exactly $353,109) Studio 568
Repterra $19.99 122 90% 3.7k $73k (exactly $73,163) Chute Apps
Outbreak older $9.99 103 66% 3.1k $31k (exactly $30,869) Dead Drop Studios LLC
Colonies of The Remnant · EA $13.99 71 7% 2.1k $30k (exactly $29,799) Cat Soul Studios
Quarantine Zombies: Contamination $9.99 74 48% 2.2k $22k (exactly $22,178) Stones Games
2番線 | Nibansen older $4.99 66 80% 2.0k $9.9k (exactly $9,880) MFC STUDIO
Outbreak: Epidemic older $9.99 28 42% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) Dead Drop Studios LLC
Project Apocalypse older $5.99 34 70% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) Sargonius Games
Finding Home · EA older $14.99 7 42% 210 $3.1k (exactly $3,148) Dream Darker Entertainment
Apocalypse Cult Leader $14.99 5 40% 150 $2.2k (exactly $2,248) Noxurtica
STAND: Survive, Team-up, And Never Die $1.99 31 67% 930 $1.9k (exactly $1,851) Studio Jylko
Sandbox Apocalypse · EA $11.99 5 80% 150 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) 7Druids GmbH
Wendigo Land : Survive The Legend · EA $6.99 4 75% 120 $839 (exactly $839) Apinat Studios
Zomboard · EA $7.99 3 33% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Tania Felidea

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