Do I ship it?

GamesSurvivalSurvival + World War II

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a WWII Survival game?

Survival + World War II

Only 12 developers shipped a WWII Survival game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 18 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $2.0k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $910k, ×1454 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 18 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 18 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival + World War II
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $49k → $1.8k → $149k → $1.6k → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival + World War II: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $2.0k (exactly $1,977)
Top 25% $8.8k (exactly $8,832)
Top 5% $913k (exactly $913,196)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 75
Announced 18
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 200% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
World War II
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium 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
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 57% positive over 1,368 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $2.0k, 1 in 4 over $8.8k, 1 in 20 over $910k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 6 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Survival with a different setting or mood, 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
Call of Duty: World at War older $19.99 45,792 92% 1.4M $27M (exactly $27,461,462) Treyarch
UBOAT older $29.99 25,568 83% 767k $23M (exactly $23,003,530) Deep Water Studio
Zombie Army Trilogy older $44.99 14,285 85% 429k $19M (exactly $19,280,464) Rebellion
Bomber Crew older $15.99 10,416 88% 312k $5.0M (exactly $4,996,555) Runner Duck
Dino D-Day older $9.99 8,039 86% 241k $2.4M (exactly $2,409,288) 800 North and Digital Ranch
Enemy Front older $19.99 3,562 66% 107k $2.1M (exactly $2,136,131) CI Games
Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army older $14.99 3,557 88% 107k $1.6M (exactly $1,599,583) Rebellion
Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2 older $14.99 3,020 84% 91k $1.4M (exactly $1,358,094) ·
Company of Heroes 3: Final Stand $29.99 1,015 49% 30k $913k (exactly $913,196) Relic Entertainment
Deadfall Adventures older $19.99 1,307 74% 39k $784k (exactly $783,808) The Farm 51
Forgotten but Unbroken $19.99 249 76% 7.5k $149k (exactly $149,325) Centurion Developments
Dagger Froggy $4.99 59 98% 1.8k $8.8k (exactly $8,832) Solluco
Zombie Outbreak 1942 $9.99 11 72% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) FlagmanJeremy
BIO Fault $5.99 14 100% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) IKO Games
Sleepless $5.99 11 54% 330 $2.0k (exactly $1,977) CaRuFy, Nagodo
Zombie Outbreak 1943 $12.99 4 75% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) FlagmanJeremy
Unlimited Ammo Survivor $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Black Star Cloud
Frontline Frenzy $4.99 2 0% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Frostyy
Avoid The Stalin's Purge $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) DNCG

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