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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.
not enough cohorts to draw
| 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.
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
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- PvE, Outbreak Sim
- Price point
- $9.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 63% positive over 17,511 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 23 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
PvE with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + TypingFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + HeistPoor odds
- + MMORPGPoor odds
- + Real-TimePoor odds
- + NavalPoor odds
- + SpaceshipsPoor odds
- + MarsPoor odds
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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