Do I ship it?

GamesSurvivalSurvival + Romance

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Romance Survival game?

Survival + Romance

Of 34 developers who shipped a Romance Survival 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.. 52 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.6 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $750; 1 in 20 cleared $2.9M, ×4659 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 52 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 52 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Romance
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $28k → $6.9k → $19k → $3.4k → $44k → $4.3k → $1.4k (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Romance: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $748 (exactly $748)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,246)
Top 25% $28k (exactly $27,890)
Top 5% $2.9M (exactly $2,926,079)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 82
Announced 52
Effort 6 / 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 down 60% on the market, supply 140% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Romance
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Visual Novel, Dating Sim
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Anime, Emotional
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 14,048 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $750, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $27k, 1 in 20 over $2.9M.

3 in 10 developers made under $750. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds14 devs · median $74k · 10 announced
  2. + Social DeductionFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  4. + CatsFair33 devs · median $1.2k · 34 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair77 devs · median $1.0k · 84 announced
  6. + IdlerFair96 devs · median $836 · 99 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair79 devs · median $807 · 90 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair101 devs · median $599 · 130 announced
  9. + DogsFair20 devs · median $535 · 19 announced
  10. + Martial ArtsLong shot19 devs · median $419 · 17 announced
  11. + Boomer ShooterLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced

All 234 pairs on the Survival page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall $11.99 8,227 58% 247k $3.0M (exactly $2,959,252) 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame)
HENPRI $24.99 3,903 96% 117k $2.9M (exactly $2,926,079) Qruppo
Seed of the Dead: Sweet Home older $29.99 3,006 83% 90k $2.7M (exactly $2,704,498) TeamKRAMA
NUKITASHI older $24.99 3,460 95% 104k $2.6M (exactly $2,593,962) Qruppo
NUKITASHI 2 older $24.99 2,575 98% 77k $1.9M (exactly $1,930,477) Qruppo
Cattails | Become a Cat! older $14.99 2,315 95% 69k $1.0M (exactly $1,041,056) Falcon Development
Monster Prom 3: Monster Roadtrip older $11.99 2,823 98% 85k $1.0M (exactly $1,015,433) Beautiful Glitch
Wedding Witch older $4.99 4,451 89% 134k $666k (exactly $666,315) Chowbie
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny $29.99 663 85% 20k $597k (exactly $596,501) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
S.H.E.L.T.E.R. - An Apocalyptic Tale older $17.99 777 88% 23k $419k (exactly $419,347) Winterlook Games
Survivor Strain - Season 1 $8.99 354 95% 11k $95k (exactly $95,474) Mr. Baker
Anime City · EA $14.99 201 72% 6.0k $90k (exactly $90,390) Shoujo City Developer
Oops.. Where's My Bikini?! 👙🔥 $14.99 116 77% 3.5k $52k (exactly $52,165) Dirty Adventures 🖤
Immortal Farmer: System’s Mandate · EA $4.99 297 68% 8.9k $44k (exactly $44,461) oyogame
Paradise: Musubi $14.99 73 98% 2.2k $33k (exactly $32,828) PIL/SLASH
Femboy Survival · EA $6.99 133 92% 4.0k $28k (exactly $27,890) 2DNiem
Lily’s Labyrinth of Lust $9.99 81 48% 2.4k $24k (exactly $24,276) Erommersion Studios

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