Games › Survival Horror › Survival Horror + Underground
Should I ship an Underground Survival Horror?
Survival Horror + Underground
Of 38 developers who shipped an Underground 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.. 81 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $6.8M, ×10840 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 81 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $359 (exactly $359) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,158) |
| Top 25% | $7.8k (exactly $7,780) |
| Top 5% | $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 38 |
| Released games | 96 |
| Announced | 81 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 flat on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- 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 Horror; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Action, Exploration
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Dark, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 31,962 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 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
Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic 2025 · $13M 
White Knuckle 2025 · EA · $6.8M 
Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999) 2026 · $698k 
Resident Evil 2 (1998) 2026 · $625k 
Spark in the Dark 2026 · EA · $598k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic | $39.99 | 10,874 86% | 326k | $13M (exactly $13,045,538) | Steel Wool Studios | |
| | White Knuckle | · EA | $16.99 | 13,356 98% | 401k | $6.8M (exactly $6,807,553) | Dark Machine 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 | |
| | Spark in the Dark | · EA | $16.99 | 1,174 87% | 35k | $598k (exactly $598,388) | Stellar Fish |
 | Resident Evil (1996) | $9.99 | 1,602 90% | 48k | $480k (exactly $480,119) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd., GOG.com | |
 | KINGDOM of the DEAD | older | $14.99 | 329 78% | 9.9k | $148k (exactly $147,951) | DIRIGO GAMES |
 | Caput Mortum | $11.99 | 355 94% | 11k | $128k (exactly $127,694) | WildArts Games | |
 | Rodland of Pipes | older | $8.99 | 262 98% | 7.9k | $71k (exactly $70,661) | Justin Jones |
 | The Door in the Basement | older | $10.99 | 171 88% | 5.1k | $56k (exactly $56,379) | Aegon Games |
 | Kriophobia | $14.99 | 60 90% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $26,982) | Fira Soft | |
 | Zardy's Cave | $7.99 | 84 80% | 2.5k | $20k (exactly $20,135) | Full Trek Media | |
 | TARO IS BACK | $15.00 | 44 84% | 1.3k | $20k (exactly $19,800) | BeforeHomeWorks |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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