Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Space

Of 51 developers who shipped a Space Survival Horror 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.. 115 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×3193 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 115 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 115 announced, ×3.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $3.1k → $599 → $2.9k → $539 → $1.0k → $802 (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $746 (exactly $746)
Top 25% $9.9k (exactly $9,880)
Top 5% $2.0M (exactly $2,005,099)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 145
Announced 115
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 up 25% on the market, supply 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Space
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Exploration
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 21,677 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $750, 1 in 4 over $9.8k, 1 in 20 over $2.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 115 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 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
Dead Space older $59.99 62,997 90% 1.9M $113M (exactly $113,375,701) Motive
The Callisto Protocol™ older $59.99 35,135 66% 1.1M $63M (exactly $63,232,460) Striking Distance Studios
Alien: Isolation older $39.99 48,591 92% 1.5M $58M (exactly $58,294,623) Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive (M… (Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux))
Prey older $29.99 37,759 90% 1.1M $34M (exactly $33,971,772) Arkane Studios
Aliens: Fireteam Elite older $29.99 21,668 80% 650k $19M (exactly $19,494,700) Cold Iron Studios
Dead Space™ 2 older $19.99 25,897 94% 777k $16M (exactly $15,530,431) Visceral Games
Dead Space (2008) older $19.99 22,890 92% 687k $14M (exactly $13,727,133) EA Redwood Shores
System Shock older $39.99 9,786 90% 294k $12M (exactly $11,740,264) Nightdive Studios
Dead Space™ 3 older $19.99 12,238 72% 367k $7.3M (exactly $7,339,129) Visceral Games
ROUTINE $24.99 7,322 91% 220k $5.5M (exactly $5,489,303) Lunar Software
Species: Unknown · EA $9.99 9,437 94% 283k $2.8M (exactly $2,828,269) WanadevStudio
Directive 8020 $49.99 1,337 63% 40k $2.0M (exactly $2,005,099) Supermassive Games
SCP: Fragmented Minds · EA $9.99 1,246 91% 37k $373k (exactly $373,426) HST Studios
Sketchy's Contract $8.99 1,027 83% 31k $277k (exactly $276,982) Dimensionless Games
Endoparasitic 2 $11.99 630 86% 19k $227k (exactly $226,611) Miziziziz
Werewolf: The Inner Beast $19.99 221 76% 6.6k $133k (exactly $132,534) FTRGameStudio
Unsafe Express $11.99 222 59% 6.7k $80k (exactly $79,853) OnSkull Games
Star Trek: Infection $29.99 79 64% 2.4k $71k (exactly $71,076) Played with Fire
HYPERVIOLENT $14.99 156 67% 4.7k $70k (exactly $70,153) nfoPRINCE, Terminist Arcade

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