Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Resource Management

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Resource Management Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Resource Management

Of 133 developers who shipped a Resource Management 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.. 278 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.0 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $210k, ×343 the market median. Revenue is up 380% on the market; 278 games are announced against 85 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 380% on the market, 278 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Resource Management
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 133
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $14k → $1.4k → $2.8k → $390 → $838 → $1.1k → $3.8k (still earning) → $1.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Resource Management: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 133
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,282)
Top 25% $8.6k (exactly $8,626)
Top 5% $215k (exactly $215,406)
Developers, 2 yr 133
Released games 265
Announced 278
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 380% on the market, supply 75% 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.

Survival Horror
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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, Resource Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Action
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Story Rich
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 13,367 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 9 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 278 games are announced against 85 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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 4 older $39.99 186,701 97% 5.6M $224M (exactly $223,985,190) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Cronos: The New Dawn $59.99 7,753 87% 233k $14M (exactly $13,953,074) Bloober Team
Five Nights at Freddy's older $4.99 53,607 94% 1.6M $8.0M (exactly $8,024,968) Scott Cawthon
Amnesia: The Bunker older $24.99 10,349 93% 310k $7.8M (exactly $7,758,645) Frictional Games
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 older $7.99 23,871 93% 716k $5.7M (exactly $5,721,879) Scott Cawthon
Gloomwood · EA older $19.99 7,495 95% 225k $4.5M (exactly $4,494,752) Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Be… (Dillon Rogers, David Szymanski, Nate Berens, Thomas Porta)
My Friendly Neighborhood older $29.99 2,485 96% 75k $2.2M (exactly $2,235,754) John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski
IN HEAT: Lustful Nights · EA older $14.99 3,285 93% 99k $1.5M (exactly $1,477,264) MonsterBox
Haydee 2 older $24.99 1,649 87% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,236,255) Haydee Interactive
Fade to Silence older $29.99 1,032 62% 31k $928k (exactly $928,490) Black Forest Games
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
DarkSwitch $34.99 714 77% 21k $749k (exactly $749,486) Cyber Temple
Darkwater $9.99 989 77% 30k $296k (exactly $296,403) Targon Studios
Iron Blight $12.49 700 93% 21k $262k (exactly $262,290) Ronesans Interactive
Backrooms Lost Runners · EA $13.99 592 75% 18k $248k (exactly $248,462) ShimStudioGames
Roots Devour $14.99 479 68% 14k $215k (exactly $215,406) Rewinding Games
Comatose · EA $12.99 393 96% 12k $153k (exactly $153,152) Lucky Dart
Wasteland Bites $9.99 440 93% 13k $132k (exactly $131,868) CosmicDev
THE MUTE HOUSE $12.99 302 79% 9.1k $118k (exactly $117,689) December Blues Games

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