Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Souls-like?

Souls-like + Zombies

Of 31 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 35 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.1k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×225 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 35 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 35 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Zombies
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: $1.9k → $6.3k → $25k → $898 → $1.9k → $5.5k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $599 (exactly $599)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,098)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,590)
Top 5% $337k (exactly $337,275)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 71
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 40% on the market, supply 20% fewer 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 3,593 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $600, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $330k.

3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 35 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights 2021 · $32M Hellsplit: Arena 2019 · $2.8M IfSunSets 2024 · EA · $1.4M Crimson Oath 2026 · $337k Dark Light 2022 · $317k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights older $24.99 43,092 93% 1.3M $32M (exactly $32,306,072) Live Wire, Adglobe
Hellsplit: Arena older $24.99 3,735 83% 112k $2.8M (exactly $2,800,130) Deep Type Games
IfSunSets · EA $19.99 2,284 74% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,369,715) POLYMORPH
Crimson Oath $14.99 750 82% 23k $337k (exactly $337,275) Parry Frames Team
Dark Light older $16.99 622 77% 19k $317k (exactly $317,033) Mirari&Co.
Undead Citadel older $29.99 288 72% 8.6k $259k (exactly $259,114) Dark Curry S.L.
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising older $29.99 211 72% 6.3k $190k (exactly $189,837) LANCARSE
Unsouled older $19.99 265 72% 8.0k $159k (exactly $158,920) Megusta Game
SiNiSistar Lite Version older $4.99 858 85% 26k $128k (exactly $128,443) Uu
Aron's Adventure older $19.99 204 74% 6.1k $122k (exactly $122,339) Tim van Kan, Tom Raudys
Tracery of Fate $19.99 129 73% 3.9k $77k (exactly $77,361) Sign Narva
DragonRoad $19.98 82 91% 2.5k $49k (exactly $49,151) XuJie
Breath of Life $14.99 104 78% 3.1k $47k (exactly $46,769) Satur Entertainment
Evil Awaits™ $16.99 49 75% 1.5k $25k (exactly $24,975) Chai Games
Phoenix's Faye $9.99 55 76% 1.7k $16k (exactly $16,484) BigFireball
Stone 4 Souls $9.99 32 78% 960 $9.6k (exactly $9,590) Adeilson S Vieira
Grim Axiom $7.99 37 67% 1.1k $8.9k (exactly $8,869) Rare Soup
Alien Agent X · EA $3.99 71 57% 2.1k $8.5k (exactly $8,499) SGALIEN.Software.US

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