Do I ship it?

Games › Outbreak Sim › Outbreak Sim + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Outbreak Sim?

Outbreak Sim + Zombies

Of 45 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 49 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $630. Revenue is up 290% on the market; 49 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 290% on the market, 49 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Outbreak Sim + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 45
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.0k → $1.8k → $25k → $1.8k → $1.8k → $2.2k → $2.4k (still earning) → $4.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Outbreak Sim + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 45
Bottom 30% $629 (exactly $629)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,851)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $24,543)
Top 5% $893k (exactly $893,157)
Developers, 2 yr 45
Released games 94
Announced 49
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 290% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Zombies
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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Survival, Simulation, Base Building
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, 3D
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 67% positive over 25,417 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 $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $24k, 1 in 20 over $890k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 8 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 49 games are announced against 28 developers who shipped in the last year.

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. + Real Time TacticsFair12 devs · median $1.8k · 14 announced
  3. + Walking SimulatorFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  4. + Survival HorrorFair22 devs · median $958 · 24 announced
  5. + Sci-fiLong shot15 devs · median $270 · 20 announced
  6. + City BuilderPoor odds10 devs · median $16k · 16 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds22 devs · median $13k · 30 announced
  8. + ManagementPoor odds26 devs · median $10k · 45 announced
  9. + Resource ManagementPoor odds24 devs · median $10k · 43 announced
  10. + Life SimPoor odds16 devs · median $6.1k · 26 announced
  11. + Time ManagementPoor odds12 devs · median $4.3k · 19 announced
  12. + SandboxPoor odds19 devs · median $4.0k · 28 announced

All 41 pairs on the Outbreak Sim page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Plague Inc: Evolved 2016 · $27M No More Room in Hell 2 2026 · $15M Infection Free Zone 2024 · EA · $12M Dread Dawn 2024 · $1.3M ZED ZONE 2023 · EA · $1.3M
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
No More Room in Hell 2 $29.99 16,725 62% 502k $15M (exactly $15,047,482) Torn Banner Studios
Infection Free Zone · EA older $24.99 16,568 80% 497k $12M (exactly $12,421,030) Jutsu Games
Dread Dawn $19.99 2,113 71% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,267,166) Kioop
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
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse older $19.99 1,781 89% 53k $1.1M (exactly $1,068,066) Aspyr
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
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
CURE - A Hospital Simulator · EA $9.99 830 86% 25k $249k (exactly $248,751) Sentinel Games
Afterinfection $8.99 463 56% 14k $125k (exactly $124,871) RePatrick21
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
ZOMBUTCHER: Monster Business Simulator $12.99 135 69% 4.1k $53k (exactly $52,610) ODIUS

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