Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Survival Horror
Should I ship a Survival Horror Souls-like?
Souls-like + Survival Horror
Of 22 developers who shipped a Survival Horror Souls-like 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.. 48 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.6k, ×6.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $540; 1 in 20 cleared $23M, ×15809 the market median. Revenue is up 6300% on the market; 48 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $539 (exactly $539) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.6k (exactly $9,581) |
| Top 25% | $267k (exactly $266,612) |
| Top 5% | $24M (exactly $23,682,516) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 78 |
| Announced | 48 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| 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 up 6300% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Souls-like
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Survival Horror
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Souls-like, Survival Horror; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Action RPG
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric, Gore
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 43,974 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $540. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 48 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Precision PlatformerLong shot
- + Score AttackLong shot
- + WarPoor odds
- + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
Comparable games
SILENT HILL f 2025 · $40M 
Rain World 2017 · $35M 
Onimusha: Way of the Sword 2026 · $24M 
Fear & Hunger 2: Termina 2022 · $5.1M 
Blood West 2023 · $4.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SILENT HILL f | $69.99 | 19,061 80% | 572k | $40M (exactly $40,022,382) | NeoBards Entertainment Ltd. | |
| | Rain World | older | $24.99 | 46,871 94% | 1.4M | $35M (exactly $35,139,189) | Videocult |
| | Onimusha: Way of the Sword | $69.99 | 11,279 89% | 338k | $24M (exactly $23,682,516) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
| | Fear & Hunger 2: Termina | older | $11.99 | 14,232 97% | 427k | $5.1M (exactly $5,119,250) | Miro Haverinen |
| | Blood West | older | $24.99 | 6,132 90% | 184k | $4.6M (exactly $4,597,160) | Hyperstrange |
 | SENRAN KAGURA Peach Beach Splash | older | $29.99 | 3,885 81% | 117k | $3.5M (exactly $3,495,334) | Tamsoft |
 | Bleak Faith: Forsaken | older | $29.99 | 2,839 75% | 85k | $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) | Archangel Studios |
 | Changed | older | $4.99 | 16,062 88% | 482k | $2.4M (exactly $2,404,481) | DragonSnow |
 | The Headliners | $7.99 | 8,534 86% | 256k | $2.0M (exactly $2,045,600) | KAFI | |
 | IfSunSets | · EA | $19.99 | 2,284 74% | 69k | $1.4M (exactly $1,369,715) | POLYMORPH |
 | Spark in the Dark | · EA | $16.99 | 1,174 87% | 35k | $598k (exactly $598,388) | Stellar Fish |
 | ENTITY: THE BLACK DAY | $17.99 | 494 79% | 15k | $267k (exactly $266,612) | ASD Games Studio | |
 | The Bleakest Keep | $9.99 | 719 90% | 22k | $215k (exactly $215,484) | Cache of Bones | |
 | Withering Realms | · EA | $19.99 | 317 95% | 9.5k | $190k (exactly $190,105) | Moonless Formless |
 | Death Frame | $14.99 | 57 98% | 1.7k | $26k (exactly $25,633) | EpiXR Games UG | |
 | Phoenix's Faye | $9.99 | 55 76% | 1.7k | $16k (exactly $16,484) | BigFireball |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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