Games › Survival › Survival + Underground
Should I ship an Underground Survival game?
Survival + Underground
Of 41 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 103 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $720, ×1.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $520k, ×832 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 103 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $719 (exactly $719) |
| Top 25% | $9.4k (exactly $9,352) |
| Top 5% | $523k (exactly $522,644) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 133 |
| Announced | 103 |
| 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 down 95% on the market, supply 95% 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
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Underground
- 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Base Building, Building
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 89% positive over 9,790 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 7 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 103 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Survival with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Social DeductionFair
- + Word GameFair
- + CatsFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + DogsFair
- + Martial ArtsLong shot
- + Boomer ShooterLong shot
- + DiplomacyPoor odds
Comparable games
Mr. Prepper 2021 · $2.9M 
Until We Die 2021 · $2.2M 
KeeperRL 2024 · $1.0M 
The Spotter: Dig or Die 2026 · $698k 
Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999) 2026 · $698k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mr. Prepper | older | $19.99 | 4,795 81% | 144k | $2.9M (exactly $2,875,562) | Rejected Games |
| | Until We Die | older | $16.99 | 4,221 62% | 127k | $2.2M (exactly $2,151,444) | Pixeye Games |
| | KeeperRL | older | $19.99 | 1,677 83% | 50k | $1.0M (exactly $1,005,697) | Electric Succubi |
| | The Spotter: Dig or Die | $12.99 | 1,792 84% | 54k | $698k (exactly $698,342) | Puppyroar Games | |
| | Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999) | $9.99 | 2,329 89% | 70k | $698k (exactly $698,001) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd., GOG.com | |
 | Resident Evil 2 (1998) | $9.99 | 2,084 90% | 63k | $625k (exactly $624,575) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd., GOG.com | |
 | Last Train Outta' Wormtown | $11.99 | 1,453 96% | 44k | $523k (exactly $522,644) | Get(Color) Games | |
 | Resident Evil (1996) | $9.99 | 1,602 90% | 48k | $480k (exactly $480,119) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd., GOG.com | |
 | Project Wunderwaffe | older | $14.99 | 438 56% | 13k | $197k (exactly $196,969) | Weasel Games |
 | Mercury Fallen | older | $24.99 | 255 80% | 7.7k | $191k (exactly $191,174) | Nitrous Butterfly |
 | Aground Zero | $19.99 | 121 81% | 3.6k | $73k (exactly $72,564) | Fancy Fish Games | |
 | Deep Among the Swarm | $8.99 | 132 85% | 4.0k | $36k (exactly $35,600) | Pebble Mountain Games | |
 | Cavern Adventurers | $8.99 | 117 48% | 3.5k | $32k (exactly $31,555) | Kairosoft Co.,Ltd | |
 | Underworld Overseer | $19.99 | 52 90% | 1.6k | $31k (exactly $31,184) | Myron Games | |
 | Drill and Delve | $8.99 | 108 87% | 3.2k | $29k (exactly $29,128) | noOne |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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