Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Zombies

Of 90 developers who shipped a Zombie Resource Management 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.. 150 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.6k, ×4.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $900; 1 in 20 cleared $750k, ×1200 the market median. Revenue is up 295% on the market; 150 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 295% on the market, 150 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 90
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $10k → $3.7k → $6.0k → $1.5k → $1.8k → $3.6k → $2.7k (still earning) → $4.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 90
Bottom 30% $897 (exactly $897)
Median $2.6k (exactly $2,637)
Top 25% $30k (exactly $30,130)
Top 5% $753k (exactly $753,448)
Developers, 2 yr 90
Released games 196
Announced 150
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 295% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Resource Management
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
Resource Management; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Survival, Base Building, Simulation
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 31,006 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $2.6k, 1 in 4 over $30k, 1 in 20 over $750k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 8 in 10 of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 150 games are announced against 51 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Resource Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Resident Evil 4 2023 · $224M They Are Billions 2019 · $42M Diplomacy is Not an Option 2024 · $9.8M Quarantine Zone: The Last Check 2026 · $7.1M The Final Station 2016 · $3.0M
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.
They Are Billions older $29.99 46,223 85% 1.4M $42M (exactly $41,586,833) Numantian Games
Diplomacy is Not an Option $29.99 10,904 85% 327k $9.8M (exactly $9,810,329) Door 407
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check $19.99 11,827 81% 355k $7.1M (exactly $7,092,652) Brigada Games
The Final Station older $14.99 6,739 88% 202k $3.0M (exactly $3,030,528) DO MY BEST
Haydee 2 older $24.99 1,649 87% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,236,255) Haydee Interactive
Survival Log $10.99 2,709 82% 81k $893k (exactly $893,157) Midnight Workshop
The Last Haven older $19.99 1,445 60% 43k $867k (exactly $866,566) Thunder Devs.
El Paso, Elsewhere older $19.99 1,393 90% 42k $835k (exactly $835,382) Strange Scaffold
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations
Echoes of the Living · EA $24.99 1,005 83% 30k $753k (exactly $753,448) MoonGlint Studio
Survival Machine $19.99 692 69% 21k $415k (exactly $414,992) Grape Pickers
Darfall $24.99 491 71% 15k $368k (exactly $368,103) SquareNite
Zombie Graveyard Simulator $14.99 805 89% 24k $362k (exactly $362,008) threeW
Zombie Cure Lab $24.99 393 65% 12k $295k (exactly $294,632) Thera Bytes GmbH
Iron Blight $12.49 700 93% 21k $262k (exactly $262,290) Ronesans Interactive

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