Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Roguelite

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelite Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Roguelite

Of 76 developers who shipped a Roguelite 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.. 143 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $550k, ×880 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 143 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 143 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Roguelite
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 76
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.1k → $14k → $4.5k → $269 → $3.9k → $4.8k → $1.2k (still earning) → $6.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Roguelite: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 76
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 25% $8.7k (exactly $8,691)
Top 5% $553k (exactly $552,946)
Developers, 2 yr 76
Released games 191
Announced 143
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 80% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Roguelite
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, Roguelite; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 17,654 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $550k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 143 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
Back 4 Blood older $59.99 55,160 69% 1.7M $99M (exactly $99,271,452) Turtle Rock Studios
WORLD OF HORROR older $19.99 8,991 89% 270k $5.4M (exactly $5,391,903) panstasz
Baldi's Basics Plus · EA older $9.99 10,895 97% 327k $3.3M (exactly $3,265,232) Basically Games
PANICORE older $9.99 10,748 78% 322k $3.2M (exactly $3,221,176) ZTEK Studio
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu $29.99 3,107 69% 93k $2.8M (exactly $2,795,368) ACE Team
MIMESIS · EA $9.99 8,396 84% 252k $2.5M (exactly $2,516,281) ReLU Games, Inc.
Receiver 2 older $19.99 2,852 90% 86k $1.7M (exactly $1,710,344) Wolfire Games
Monstrum older $17.99 3,155 91% 95k $1.7M (exactly $1,702,753) Team Junkfish
Genesis Alpha One Deluxe Edition older $19.99 1,566 73% 47k $939k (exactly $939,130) Radiation Blue
Withering Rooms older $24.99 1,209 96% 36k $906k (exactly $906,387) Moonless Formless
DIVE or DIE - Children of Rain $17.99 1,255 91% 38k $677k (exactly $677,323) Drop Rate Studio
GRAIN ROT $9.99 1,845 88% 55k $553k (exactly $552,946) Beck & Branch Games
CleanFall · EA $19.99 492 92% 15k $295k (exactly $295,052) Humanyoyo
The Bleakest Keep $9.99 719 90% 22k $215k (exactly $215,484) Cache of Bones
Roots Devour $14.99 479 68% 14k $215k (exactly $215,406) Rewinding Games
Feed The Pit $9.99 635 97% 19k $190k (exactly $190,310) Curious Fox Sox
It Has My Face $9.99 608 88% 18k $182k (exactly $182,218) NightByte Games
THE SPIRIT LIFT $19.99 118 94% 3.5k $71k (exactly $70,765) prettysmart games

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