Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Science

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Science Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Science

Only 12 developers shipped a Science Survival Horror in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Oxide Room 208, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 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 $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $19k, ×32 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 22 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 22 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Science
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $470k → $5.7k → $539 → $120 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Science: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $5.9k (exactly $5,930)
Top 5% $20k (exactly $19,793)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 32
Announced 22
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 down 85% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Science
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
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 183 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $19k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival Horror with a different setting or mood, 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
The Outlast Trials older $39.99 90,997 92% 2.7M $109M (exactly $109,169,101) Red Barrels
Ghost Exorcism INC. · EA older $11.99 4,256 76% 128k $1.5M (exactly $1,530,883) StudioGoupil
Genesis Alpha One Deluxe Edition older $19.99 1,566 73% 47k $939k (exactly $939,130) Radiation Blue
Tin Can older $19.99 1,073 85% 32k $643k (exactly $643,478) Tin Can Studio
RIPOUT older $19.99 783 65% 23k $470k (exactly $469,565) Pet Project Games
The Light Remake older $4.99 1,462 87% 44k $219k (exactly $218,861) Носков Сергей
Stifled - Echolocation Horror Mystery older $19.99 78 70% 2.3k $47k (exactly $46,777) Gattai Games
Oxide Room 208 $29.99 22 31% 660 $20k (exactly $19,793) WildSphere
THREAT -SCREAM AND ESCAPE- $8.99 73 83% 2.2k $20k (exactly $19,688) C-Route, HiBiGA
Infectious older $3.99 77 67% 2.3k $9.2k (exactly $9,217) Ziggy Makes Games
Raccoon on a boat $5.99 33 60% 990 $5.9k (exactly $5,930) PUMPKIM
Malevolent Madness $9.99 19 89% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) NEBULA NOVA GAMES
Fuck the Infected 🧟 $4.99 18 88% 540 $2.7k (exactly $2,695) TheBigO Games
Childmare $4.99 10 90% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Altab
Ponder Thy Realm $5.08 4 100% 120 $610 (exactly $610) Button Mash Studios
Mad Cleaners · EA $8.99 2 50% 60 $539 (exactly $539) Lysm
The Haunting of Ptolemy $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Lee E. Powell
Codelock $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) Jonathan Yen

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