Do I ship it?

GamesSurvivalSurvival + Tabletop

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tabletop Survival game?

Survival + Tabletop

Of 38 developers who shipped a Tabletop Survival game 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.. 41 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $840, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $41k, ×66 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 41 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 41 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + Tabletop
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $29k → $6.6k → $839 → $3.5k → $3.8k → $479 (still earning) → $538 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + Tabletop: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $298 (exactly $298)
Median $839 (exactly $839)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $12,529)
Top 5% $42k (exactly $41,690)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 93
Announced 41
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 down 60% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Tabletop
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high 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, Tabletop; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Card Game, Card Battler
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 60% positive over 1,140 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $840, 1 in 4 over $12k, 1 in 20 over $41k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. Nearly all of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds14 devs · median $74k · 10 announced
  2. + Social DeductionFair31 devs · median $6.2k · 35 announced
  3. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $2.1k · 29 announced
  4. + CatsFair33 devs · median $1.2k · 34 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair77 devs · median $1.0k · 84 announced
  6. + IdlerFair96 devs · median $836 · 99 announced
  7. + Auto BattlerFair79 devs · median $807 · 90 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair101 devs · median $599 · 130 announced
  9. + DogsFair20 devs · median $535 · 19 announced
  10. + Martial ArtsLong shot19 devs · median $419 · 17 announced
  11. + Boomer ShooterLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  12. + DiplomacyPoor odds16 devs · median $100k · 28 announced

All 234 pairs on the Survival page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stacklands older $7.99 29,244 96% 877k $7.0M (exactly $7,009,787) Sokpop Collective
dotAGE older $17.59 2,560 94% 77k $1.4M (exactly $1,350,912) Michele Pirovano
As Far As The Eye older $24.99 1,640 73% 49k $1.2M (exactly $1,229,508) Unexpected
WitchHand older $11.99 616 90% 18k $222k (exactly $221,575) Jon Nielsen
Evolution Board Game older $14.99 348 81% 10k $156k (exactly $156,496) North Star Digital Studios
Endless Road: Reborn older $9.99 431 74% 13k $129k (exactly $129,171) 掌烛文化
Stack to Ascension $12.99 331 54% 9.9k $129k (exactly $128,991) Stack to Ascension
Artist Life Simulator older $19.99 173 79% 5.2k $104k (exactly $103,748) Interactive Fate
Fury of Dracula: Digital Edition older $12.99 213 72% 6.4k $83k (exactly $83,006) Nomad Games
ZombieCards $5.99 232 48% 7.0k $42k (exactly $41,690) HotScent
The Deadly Path $12.99 84 39% 2.5k $33k (exactly $32,735) Owlskip Enterprises
ColdRidge $9.99 97 73% 2.9k $29k (exactly $29,071) Frog Collective
Neuroshima Hex $9.99 93 72% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,872) Baked Games
Paper Kingdom $12.99 65 61% 2.0k $25k (exactly $25,330) obece
Decks of the Damned $9.99 54 68% 1.6k $16k (exactly $16,184) Thorian Games
It's time, Your Majesty $6.99 77 64% 2.3k $16k (exactly $16,147) String studio
Cheater's Table · EA $6.99 69 95% 2.1k $14k (exactly $14,469) Lagari
WAGON $10.99 38 94% 1.1k $13k (exactly $12,529) de_husk

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