Games › Survival Horror › Survival Horror + Strategy
Should I ship a Strategy Survival Horror?
Survival Horror + Strategy
Of 232 developers who shipped a Strategy 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.. 305 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $73k, ×117 the market median. Revenue is up 200% on the market; 305 games are announced against 141 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $450 (exactly $450) |
| Top 25% | $2.7k (exactly $2,695) |
| Top 5% | $73k (exactly $73,163) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 232 |
| Released games | 715 |
| Announced | 305 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 200% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Strategy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Survival Horror, Strategy; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Adventure
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 58,462 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 118 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 305 games are announced against 141 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Survival Horror with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVFair
- + DrivingFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + SnowFair
- + SportsFair
- + Outbreak SimFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
- + Boomer ShooterFair
- + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
- + Spectacle fighterPoor odds
Comparable games
Dead by Daylight 2016 · $411M 
Don't Starve Together 2016 · $169M 
The Long Dark 2017 · $66M 
Barotrauma 2023 · $65M 
Hello Neighbor 2017 · $24M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dead by Daylight | older | $19.99 | 685,423 78% | 21M | $411M (exactly $411,048,173) | Behaviour Interactive Inc. |
| | Don't Starve Together | older | $14.99 | 376,165 94% | 11M | $169M (exactly $169,161,400) | Klei Entertainment |
| | The Long Dark | older | $19.99 | 110,264 89% | 3.3M | $66M (exactly $66,125,321) | Hinterland Studio Inc. |
| | Barotrauma | older | $34.99 | 61,905 94% | 1.9M | $65M (exactly $64,981,678) | FakeFish, Undertow Games |
| | Hello Neighbor | older | $29.99 | 26,329 87% | 790k | $24M (exactly $23,688,201) | Dynamic Pixels |
 | Sultan's Game | $24.99 | 25,061 93% | 752k | $19M (exactly $18,788,232) | Double Cross | |
 | Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy | older | $7.99 | 75,118 82% | 2.3M | $18M (exactly $18,005,785) | Bennett Foddy |
 | Halloween: The Game | $39.99 | 11,868 68% | 356k | $14M (exactly $14,238,040) | IllFonic | |
 | Notes of Soul | · EA older | $29.99 | 14,293 73% | 429k | $13M (exactly $12,859,412) | （Hong Kong）GKD Game Studio |
 | FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S: HELP WANTED | older | $29.99 | 12,257 95% | 368k | $11M (exactly $11,027,623) | Steel Wool Studios |
 | ZERO Sievert | $19.99 | 14,378 84% | 431k | $8.6M (exactly $8,622,487) | CABO Studio | |
 | Carnival Hunt | · EA | $19.99 | 2,092 63% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,254,572) | Crytivo, Beer Night Studio |
 | DarkSwitch | $34.99 | 714 77% | 21k | $749k (exactly $749,486) | Cyber Temple | |
 | Sinister Night 2 | $9.99 | 1,800 86% | 54k | $539k (exactly $539,460) | Bug Inventors | |
 | Darkwater | $9.99 | 989 77% | 30k | $296k (exactly $296,403) | Targon Studios | |
 | CleanFall | · EA | $19.99 | 492 92% | 15k | $295k (exactly $295,052) | Humanyoyo |
 | Roots Devour | $14.99 | 479 68% | 14k | $215k (exactly $215,406) | Rewinding Games | |
 | Ultimate Zombie Defense 2 | $9.99 | 589 76% | 18k | $177k (exactly $176,523) | Terror Dog Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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