Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Psychological

Of 247 developers who shipped a Psychological Survival Horror 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.. 375 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×2.5 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×250 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 375 games are announced against 149 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 375 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 247
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.5k → $2.7k → $4.0k → $3.0k → $1.4k → $1.6k → $2.0k (still earning) → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 247
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,556)
Top 25% $7.7k (exactly $7,727)
Top 5% $157k (exactly $157,121)
Developers, 2 yr 247
Released games 620
Announced 375
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 10% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Survival Horror
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Survival Horror; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 74,830 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $7.7k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 122 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 375 games are announced against 149 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival Horror with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVFair13 devs · median $31k · 14 announced
  2. + DrivingFair20 devs · median $4.9k · 25 announced
  3. + Tower DefenseFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 16 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair16 devs · median $1.6k · 19 announced
  5. + SnowFair17 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  6. + SportsFair5 devs · median $959 · 3 announced
  7. + Outbreak SimFair22 devs · median $958 · 24 announced
  8. + 3D PlatformerFair111 devs · median $539 · 104 announced
  9. + Boomer ShooterFair27 devs · median $449 · 28 announced
  10. + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds10 devs · median $64k · 42 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds17 devs · median $52k · 21 announced
  12. + Spectacle fighterPoor odds8 devs · median $52k · 12 announced

All 159 pairs on the Survival Horror page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SILENT HILL 2 $69.99 43,367 94% 1.3M $91M (exactly $91,057,690) Bloober Team SA
SILENT HILL f $69.99 19,061 80% 572k $40M (exactly $40,022,382) NeoBards Entertainment Ltd.
DREDGE older $24.99 47,624 95% 1.4M $36M (exactly $35,703,713) Black Salt Games
Blair Witch older $29.99 6,489 78% 195k $5.8M (exactly $5,838,153) Bloober Team SA
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope older $19.99 7,202 74% 216k $4.3M (exactly $4,319,039) Supermassive Games
Alone in the Dark older $39.99 3,325 77% 100k $4.0M (exactly $3,989,002) Pieces Interactive
Pathologic 3 $34.99 2,528 80% 76k $2.7M (exactly $2,653,642) Ice-Pick Lodge
FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse older $49.99 1,597 89% 48k $2.4M (exactly $2,395,021) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Your Turn To Die -Death Game By Majority- · EA older $16.99 4,122 97% 124k $2.1M (exactly $2,100,983) Nankidai
SONG OF HORROR COMPLETE EDITION older $29.99 1,932 80% 58k $1.7M (exactly $1,738,220) Protocol Games
Psychopomp GOLD $8.99 4,884 97% 147k $1.3M (exactly $1,317,215) Fading Club
The Thing: Remastered $29.99 1,203 89% 36k $1.1M (exactly $1,082,339) Nightdive Studios, Computer Artworks
A.I.L.A $29.99 889 81% 27k $800k (exactly $799,833) Pulsatrix Studios
Static Dread: The Lighthouse $10.90 1,394 90% 42k $456k (exactly $455,838) solarsuit.games
Dead Take $14.99 752 87% 23k $338k (exactly $338,174) Surgent Studios
ENTITY: THE BLACK DAY $17.99 494 79% 15k $267k (exactly $266,612) ASD Games Studio
Unmourned $24.99 258 79% 7.7k $193k (exactly $193,423) Codebros Studio

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