Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Puzzle

Of 531 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 875 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×343 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 875 games are announced against 291 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 875 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 531
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.1k → $4.2k → $2.0k → $2.7k → $1.0k → $1.9k → $1.4k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 531
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $9.0k (exactly $8,963)
Top 5% $215k (exactly $215,406)
Developers, 2 yr 531
Released games 1,495
Announced 875
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 25% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

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, Puzzle; 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
6 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 88% positive over 37,931 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $8.9k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 298 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 875 games are announced against 291 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival Horror with a different second tag, 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
Resident Evil 2 older $39.99 156,065 97% 4.7M $187M (exactly $187,231,180) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard older $19.99 87,806 95% 2.6M $53M (exactly $52,657,258) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
SOMA older $29.99 46,772 95% 1.4M $42M (exactly $42,080,768) Frictional Games
Little Nightmares older $19.99 52,184 94% 1.6M $31M (exactly $31,294,745) Tarsier Studios
Hello Neighbor older $29.99 26,329 87% 790k $24M (exactly $23,688,201) Dynamic Pixels
Scorn older $49.99 14,546 77% 436k $22M (exactly $21,814,636) Ebb Software
DEVOUR older $9.99 68,664 90% 2.1M $21M (exactly $20,578,601) Straight Back Games
SIGNALIS older $19.99 30,601 96% 918k $18M (exactly $18,351,420) rose-engine
Resident Evil older $19.99 27,409 92% 822k $16M (exactly $16,437,177) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Bendy and the Ink Machine older $19.99 26,232 90% 787k $16M (exactly $15,731,330) Joey Drew Studios
Ghost Watchers $14.99 12,729 86% 382k $5.7M (exactly $5,724,231) Renderise
ROUTINE $24.99 7,322 91% 220k $5.5M (exactly $5,489,303) Lunar Software
Enigma of Fear $29.99 3,045 95% 91k $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) Dumativa, Cellbit
Crisol: Theater of Idols $17.99 4,103 85% 123k $2.2M (exactly $2,214,389) Vermila Studios
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead $29.99 2,331 74% 70k $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) Stormind Games
Tormented Souls 2 $29.99 1,675 88% 50k $1.5M (exactly $1,506,998) Dual Effect
Sorry We're Closed $24.99 1,643 98% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,231,757) à la mode games
Fear the Spotlight $19.99 1,208 96% 36k $724k (exactly $724,438) Cozy Game Pals
Emissary Zero $8.99 2,683 83% 80k $724k (exactly $723,605) Rone Vine
The Scourge | Tai Ương $19.99 1,192 93% 36k $715k (exactly $714,842) Rare Reversee, Beaztek

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