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Should I ship a Zombie Puzzle game?
Puzzle + Zombies
Of 135 developers who shipped a Zombie Puzzle game 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.. 170 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $77k, ×123 the market median. Revenue is up 115% on the market; 170 games are announced against 64 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $358 (exactly $358) |
|---|---|
| Median | $959 (exactly $959) |
| Top 25% | $4.1k (exactly $4,126) |
| Top 5% | $77k (exactly $77,361) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 135 |
| Released games | 426 |
| Announced | 170 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 115% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Puzzle; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 12,435 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 81 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 170 games are announced against 64 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Puzzle with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + Medical SimFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Escape RoomFair
- + VampiresFair
- + CatsFair
- + DemonsFair
- + God GameFair
- + RomanceFair
- + AutomationFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + LemmingsFair
Comparable games
Resident Evil 2 2019 · $187M 
Half-Life 2 2004 · $61M 
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard 2017 · $53M 
Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition 2009 · $21M 
Resident Evil 2015 · $16M | 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. |
| | Half-Life 2 | older | $9.99 | 202,782 97% | 6.1M | $61M (exactly $60,773,765) | Valve |
| | Resident Evil 7 Biohazard | older | $19.99 | 87,806 95% | 2.6M | $53M (exactly $52,657,258) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition | older | $4.99 | 143,506 97% | 4.3M | $21M (exactly $21,482,848) | PopCap Games, Inc. |
| | Resident Evil | older | $19.99 | 27,409 92% | 822k | $16M (exactly $16,437,177) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | Strange Brigade | older | $49.99 | 8,309 84% | 249k | $12M (exactly $12,461,007) | Rebellion |
 | Resident Evil 0 | older | $19.99 | 14,424 80% | 433k | $8.7M (exactly $8,650,073) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | The Killing Antidote | · EA | $29.99 | 7,512 88% | 225k | $6.8M (exactly $6,758,546) | MetalStar Studio |
 | Deadlight | older | $14.99 | 9,386 78% | 282k | $4.2M (exactly $4,220,884) | Tequila Works, S.L. |
 | Half-Life: Blue Shift | older | $4.99 | 18,660 92% | 560k | $2.8M (exactly $2,793,402) | Gearbox Software |
 | Whisper Mountain Outbreak | · EA | $7.99 | 2,421 84% | 73k | $580k (exactly $580,314) | Toge Productions |
 | Lunar Eclipse | · EA | $14.99 | 765 82% | 23k | $344k (exactly $344,020) | Black Rabbit's Tales |
 | Post Trauma | $14.99 | 574 72% | 17k | $258k (exactly $258,128) | RED SOUL GAMES | |
 | Fear The Timeloop | $14.99 | 491 85% | 15k | $221k (exactly $220,803) | TacoEaters | |
 | SUFFOCATE | $16.99 | 272 83% | 8.2k | $139k (exactly $138,638) | Naughty Cow | |
 | Tracery of Fate | $19.99 | 129 73% | 3.9k | $77k (exactly $77,361) | Sign Narva | |
 | DreadOut Remastered Collection | $29.99 | 53 56% | 1.6k | $48k (exactly $47,684) | Digital Happiness | |
 | Spooky Express | $14.99 | 80 98% | 2.4k | $36k (exactly $35,976) | Draknek and Friends | |
 | Connection: The Nightmare Within | $7.99 | 138 84% | 4.1k | $33k (exactly $33,079) | Dragon Level |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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