Do I ship it?

Games › Roguelite › Roguelite + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Roguelite?

Roguelite + Zombies

Of 147 developers who shipped a Zombie Roguelite 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.. 250 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×3.2 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $460k, ×735 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 250 games are announced against 80 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 250 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Roguelite + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 147
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.2k → $9.4k → $2.1k → $3.1k → $1.5k → $1.9k → $2.7k (still earning) → $1.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Roguelite + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 147
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $2.0k (exactly $2,035)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $20,509)
Top 5% $462k (exactly $461,769)
Developers, 2 yr 147
Released games 336
Announced 250
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 down 15% on the market, supply 20% 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.

Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
Roguelite; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 44,819 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $2.0k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $460k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 69 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 250 games are announced against 80 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-TimeFair11 devs · median $11k · 14 announced
  2. + ProgrammingFair24 devs · median $9.3k · 28 announced
  3. + VampiresFair60 devs · median $4.8k · 62 announced
  4. + TypingFair29 devs · median $2.4k · 34 announced
  5. + Grand StrategyFair21 devs · median $2.0k · 23 announced
  6. + IdlerFair166 devs · median $1.5k · 235 announced
  7. + DogsFair30 devs · median $1.3k · 22 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair23 devs · median $1.1k · 23 announced
  9. + Score AttackFair344 devs · median $719 · 450 announced
  10. + Point & ClickFair94 devs · median $600 · 121 announced
  11. + LogicFair144 devs · median $599 · 143 announced
  12. + DwarvesPoor odds21 devs · median $74k · 24 announced

All 229 pairs on the Roguelite page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Back 4 Blood 2021 · $99M Deadzone: Rogue 2025 · $11M Yet Another Zombie Survivors 2026 · $6.4M The Last Stand: Aftermath 2021 · $4.6M Death Road to Canada 2016 · $4.1M
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
Deadzone: Rogue $24.99 15,041 82% 451k $11M (exactly $11,276,238) Prophecy Games
Yet Another Zombie Survivors $14.99 14,123 91% 424k $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) Awesome Games Studio
The Last Stand: Aftermath older $24.99 6,096 80% 183k $4.6M (exactly $4,570,171) Con Artist Games
Death Road to Canada older $14.99 9,123 92% 274k $4.1M (exactly $4,102,613) Rocketcat Games, Madgarden
Knock on the Coffin Lid older $24.99 2,727 82% 82k $2.0M (exactly $2,044,432) RedBoon
Dead Age older $14.99 4,407 83% 132k $2.0M (exactly $1,981,828) Silent Dreams
Apocalypse Party older $9.99 4,658 72% 140k $1.4M (exactly $1,396,003) Breaker Games
Deadly Days: Roadtrip · EA $14.99 2,855 87% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894) Pixelsplit
ZED ZONE · EA older $11.99 3,506 81% 105k $1.3M (exactly $1,261,108) Leven Liu
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program $14.99 2,727 76% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) WarmCore Studio
Survival Log $10.99 2,709 82% 81k $893k (exactly $893,157) Midnight Workshop
After Inc: Revival $17.99 1,480 77% 44k $799k (exactly $798,756) Ndemic Creations
Zombieville USA 3D $9.99 2,184 92% 66k $655k (exactly $654,545) Mika Mobile, Inc.
Section 13 $19.99 770 70% 23k $462k (exactly $461,769) Ocean Drive Studio, Inc.
FatalZone $6.99 2,125 66% 64k $446k (exactly $445,612) Midhard Games
Zombie Graveyard Simulator $14.99 805 89% 24k $362k (exactly $362,008) threeW

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