Do I ship it?

Games › Social Deduction › Social Deduction + Survival

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Survival Social Deduction game?

Social Deduction + Survival

Of 31 developers who shipped a Survival Social Deduction 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.. 35 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.2k, ×4.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $2.6k. Revenue is up 145% on the market; 35 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 145% on the market, 35 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Social Deduction + Survival
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $67k → $23k → $5.7k → $3.8k → $13k (still earning) → $6.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Social Deduction + Survival: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $2.5k (exactly $2,545)
Median $6.2k (exactly $6,232)
Top 25% $23k (exactly $23,388)
Top 5% $697k (exactly $696,503)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 82
Announced 35
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 145% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Social Deduction
effort 7 / 10 · low · online lobbies, voice or chat, live player base
Survival
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Social Deduction, Survival; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry PvP, Online Co-Op, Co-op
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cartoon, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 10,029 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.6k, median $6.2k, 1 in 4 over $23k, 1 in 20 over $690k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.6k. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Social Deduction with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + PsychologicalFair25 devs · median $4.8k · 34 announced
  2. + SimulationFair14 devs · median $1.5k · 25 announced
  3. + PuzzleLong shot15 devs · median $899 · 22 announced
  4. + Board GameLong shot13 devs · median $899 · 14 announced
  5. + Survival HorrorPoor odds14 devs · median $18k · 17 announced
  6. + HorrorPoor odds22 devs · median $10k · 35 announced
  7. + AdventurePoor odds16 devs · median $6.6k · 23 announced
  8. + Character CustomizationPoor odds15 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + PvPPoor odds77 devs · median $2.2k · 134 announced
  10. + RPGPoor odds15 devs · median $2.2k · 25 announced
  11. + ActionPoor odds46 devs · median $1.7k · 81 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds61 devs · median $1.5k · 102 announced

All 21 pairs on the Social Deduction page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Among Us 2018 · $99M Town of Salem 2014 · $4.6M Project Winter 2019 · $4.1M In Silence 2021 · $2.8M First Class Trouble 2021 · $1.4M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Among Us older $4.99 659,003 92% 20M $99M (exactly $98,652,749) Innersloth
Town of Salem older $4.99 30,882 88% 926k $4.6M (exactly $4,623,035) BlankMediaGames
Project Winter older $9.99 13,662 84% 410k $4.1M (exactly $4,094,501) Other Ocean Interactive
In Silence older $9.99 9,450 75% 284k $2.8M (exactly $2,832,165) Ravenhood Games
First Class Trouble older $14.99 3,103 79% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,395,419) Invisible Walls
Feign $4.99 5,270 91% 158k $789k (exactly $788,919) Teneke Kafalar
Among Us 3D: VR older $9.99 2,449 75% 73k $734k (exactly $733,965) Schell Games, Innersloth, Robot Teddy
DEATH NOTE Killer Within $9.99 2,324 84% 70k $697k (exactly $696,503) Grounding Inc.
Oh Deer older $9.99 2,125 84% 64k $637k (exactly $636,862) Cozy Cabin Studios
West Hunt older $9.99 1,522 84% 46k $456k (exactly $456,143) NewGen
BACKROOMS: APPREHENSION $2.99 1,371 83% 41k $123k (exactly $122,979) DMNT Interactive
MISTERY $11.99 290 64% 8.7k $104k (exactly $104,313) Game Frontier
WISE GUYS · EA $8.99 194 90% 5.8k $52k (exactly $52,322) StonieDude
Cut That Wire $6.99 243 84% 7.3k $51k (exactly $50,957) WakaStudio
Deadly Trick · EA $8.99 141 95% 4.2k $38k (exactly $38,028) Finalblow Co.
DreadHaunt $19.99 39 64% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Digital Happiness
Villainy $7.99 88 94% 2.6k $21k (exactly $21,094) Studio Rend
Cheater's Table · EA $6.99 69 95% 2.1k $14k (exactly $14,469) Lagari

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