Games › Survival Horror › Survival Horror + Supernatural
Should I ship a Supernatural Survival Horror?
Survival Horror + Supernatural
Of 353 developers who shipped a Supernatural 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.. 605 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $260k, ×416 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 605 games are announced against 207 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $449 (exactly $449) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.9k (exactly $1,946) |
| Top 25% | $9.6k (exactly $9,581) |
| Top 5% | $261k (exactly $261,104) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 353 |
| Released games | 781 |
| Announced | 605 |
| 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 40% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Supernatural
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Survival Horror; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 22,883 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 179 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 605 games are announced against 207 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Survival Horror with a different setting or mood, 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Ghostwire: Tokyo | older | $59.99 | 12,954 83% | 389k | $23M (exactly $23,313,314) | Tango Gameworks |
| | Alan Wake | older | $14.99 | 45,662 89% | 1.4M | $21M (exactly $20,534,201) | Remedy Entertainment |
| | Darkwood | older | $19.99 | 22,236 94% | 667k | $13M (exactly $13,334,929) | Acid Wizard Studio |
| | Chernobylite Complete Edition | older | $29.99 | 12,416 81% | 372k | $11M (exactly $11,170,675) | The Farm 51 |
| | BIGFOOT | · EA older | $19.99 | 17,818 83% | 535k | $11M (exactly $10,685,455) | CyberLight Game Studio |
| | Five Nights at Freddy's | older | $4.99 | 53,607 94% | 1.6M | $8.0M (exactly $8,024,968) | Scott Cawthon |
| | Amnesia: The Bunker | older | $24.99 | 10,349 93% | 310k | $7.8M (exactly $7,758,645) | Frictional Games |
| | The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes | older | $29.99 | 7,360 89% | 221k | $6.6M (exactly $6,621,792) | Supermassive Games |
| | FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water | older | $39.99 | 5,442 82% | 163k | $6.5M (exactly $6,528,767) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
| | Pacify | older | $4.99 | 32,921 86% | 988k | $4.9M (exactly $4,928,274) | Shawn Hitchcock |
| | FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE | $49.99 | 2,663 87% | 80k | $4.0M (exactly $3,993,701) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
| | Enigma of Fear | $29.99 | 3,045 95% | 91k | $2.7M (exactly $2,739,586) | Dumativa, Cellbit | |
| | Slitterhead | $49.99 | 1,145 78% | 34k | $1.7M (exactly $1,717,156) | Bokeh Game Studio lnc. | |
| | Tormented Souls 2 | $29.99 | 1,675 88% | 50k | $1.5M (exactly $1,506,998) | Dual Effect | |
| | Psychopomp GOLD | $8.99 | 4,884 97% | 147k | $1.3M (exactly $1,317,215) | Fading Club | |
| | Labyrinth Of The Demon King | $19.99 | 2,116 92% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,268,965) | J. R. Hudepohl | |
| | Sorry We're Closed | $24.99 | 1,643 98% | 49k | $1.2M (exactly $1,231,757) | à la mode games | |
| | Dark Hours | $9.99 | 3,481 81% | 104k | $1.0M (exactly $1,043,256) | Piece of Cake studios | |
| | Bye Sweet Carole | $24.99 | 1,039 72% | 31k | $779k (exactly $778,938) | Little Sewing Machine | |
| | The Scourge | Tai Ương | $19.99 | 1,192 93% | 36k | $715k (exactly $714,842) | Rare Reversee, Beaztek |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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