Do I ship it?

Games › Strategy RPG › Strategy RPG + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Strategy RPG?

Strategy RPG + Zombies

Of 25 developers who shipped a Zombie Strategy RPG 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.. 45 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $840, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $680k, ×1091 the market median. Revenue is up 760% on the market; 45 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 760% on the market, 45 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy RPG + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $228k → $3.6k → $839 → $299 → $1.0k → $196k (still earning) → $192k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy RPG + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $450 (exactly $450)
Median $839 (exactly $839)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $20,509)
Top 5% $685k (exactly $685,454)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 75
Announced 45
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 760% on the market, supply 80% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Strategy RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy RPG; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 6,539 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $840, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $680k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Strategy RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SportsFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 26 announced
  2. + SwordplayFair22 devs · median $2.7k · 28 announced
  3. + Bullet HellFair40 devs · median $2.0k · 31 announced
  4. + EconomyFair95 devs · median $2.0k · 128 announced
  5. + Asynchronous MultiplayerFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  6. + ConspiracyFair19 devs · median $1.2k · 21 announced
  7. + Shop KeeperFair21 devs · median $987 · 25 announced
  8. + 2D PlatformerFair108 devs · median $479 · 113 announced
  9. + Point & ClickFair43 devs · median $450 · 47 announced
  10. + Turn-BasedPoor odds58 devs · median $63k · 76 announced
  11. + Dating SimPoor odds30 devs · median $35k · 41 announced
  12. + 4XPoor odds15 devs · median $31k · 33 announced

All 158 pairs on the Strategy RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Red Solstice 2: Survivors 2021 · $1.2M Ancient Warfare 3 2024 · $1.0M Pathway 2019 · $915k SubZero 2026 · $815k Warhammer Quest (Classic) 2015 · $807k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Red Solstice 2: Survivors older $14.99 2,585 70% 78k $1.2M (exactly $1,162,474) Ironward
Ancient Warfare 3 older $12.99 2,659 95% 80k $1.0M (exactly $1,036,212) JNI Games
Pathway older $15.99 1,908 76% 57k $915k (exactly $915,268) Robotality
SubZero $9.99 2,719 92% 82k $815k (exactly $814,884) Joy Media Limited
Warhammer Quest (Classic) older $29.99 897 71% 27k $807k (exactly $807,031) Rodeo Games, Twistplay
Urban Strife $34.99 653 69% 20k $685k (exactly $685,454) White Pond Games
Sinister Night 2 $9.99 1,800 86% 54k $539k (exactly $539,460) Bug Inventors
Black & White older $14.99 612 71% 18k $275k (exactly $275,216) 零创游戏(ZerocreationGame)
The Red Solstice older $9.99 883 72% 26k $265k (exactly $264,635) Ironward
Undead Horde 2: Necropolis older $16.99 447 83% 13k $228k (exactly $227,836) 10tons Ltd
Dead Grid $12.99 504 93% 15k $196k (exactly $196,409) Atom Void
侠落：百花杀尽 $12.99 493 70% 15k $192k (exactly $192,122) 上海江湖逸客信息技术有限公司
MEMOLITH: Forsaken by Light $19.99 220 76% 6.6k $132k (exactly $131,934) Black Anchor
Sword Mistress of the Dungeon Town $17.99 38 65% 1.1k $21k (exactly $20,509) ラブリープリチー超愛してる, Lovely Pretty Ultra Lov… (ラブリープリチー超愛してる, Lovely Pretty Ultra Loving You)
尸来运转-Lucky Zombie Survival $3.99 86 86% 2.6k $10k (exactly $10,294) Kwing works
SoulTrigger · EA $9.99 17 94% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) YHDATABASE
Dreadstone Keep $7.99 9 100% 270 $2.2k (exactly $2,157) Crit42 Studio

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