Do I ship it?

GamesSurvival HorrorSurvival Horror + Walking Simulator

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Walking Simulator Survival Horror?

Survival Horror + Walking Simulator

Of 325 developers who shipped a Walking Simulator 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.. 386 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 $1.5k, ×2.4 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×233 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 386 games are announced against 187 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 30% on the market, 386 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror + Walking Simulator
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 325
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $1.4k → $2.8k → $1.6k → $1.6k → $1.6k → $1.4k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror + Walking Simulator: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 325
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 25% $6.9k (exactly $6,920)
Top 5% $146k (exactly $146,192)
Developers, 2 yr 325
Released games 868
Announced 386
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 up 30% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 Horror
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Walking Simulator
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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 Horror, Walking Simulator; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Exploration, Action
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric, Dark
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 21,830 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $6.9k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 8 in 10 of the 194 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 386 games are announced against 187 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVFair13 devs · median $31k · 14 announced
  2. + DrivingFair20 devs · median $4.9k · 25 announced
  3. + Tower DefenseFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 16 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair16 devs · median $1.6k · 19 announced
  5. + SnowFair17 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  6. + SportsFair5 devs · median $959 · 3 announced
  7. + Outbreak SimFair22 devs · median $958 · 24 announced
  8. + 3D PlatformerFair111 devs · median $539 · 104 announced
  9. + Boomer ShooterFair27 devs · median $449 · 28 announced
  10. + Turn-Based CombatPoor odds10 devs · median $64k · 42 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds17 devs · median $52k · 21 announced
  12. + Spectacle fighterPoor odds8 devs · median $52k · 12 announced

All 159 pairs on the Survival Horror page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Long Dark older $19.99 110,264 89% 3.3M $66M (exactly $66,125,321) Hinterland Studio Inc.
Outlast older $14.99 104,353 96% 3.1M $47M (exactly $46,927,544) Red Barrels
SOMA older $29.99 46,772 95% 1.4M $42M (exactly $42,080,768) Frictional Games
Scorn older $49.99 14,546 77% 436k $22M (exactly $21,814,636) Ebb Software
Amnesia: The Dark Descent older $19.99 20,420 95% 613k $12M (exactly $12,245,874) Frictional Games
Visage older $34.99 8,747 85% 262k $9.2M (exactly $9,181,726) SadSquare Studio
Layers of Fear (2016) older $19.99 13,172 89% 395k $7.9M (exactly $7,899,248) Bloober Team SA
The Beast Inside older $24.99 10,528 83% 316k $7.9M (exactly $7,892,842) Illusion Ray
Call of Cthulhu® older $19.99 10,962 79% 329k $6.6M (exactly $6,573,911) Cyanide Studio
Blair Witch older $29.99 6,489 78% 195k $5.8M (exactly $5,838,153) Bloober Team SA
ROUTINE $24.99 7,322 91% 220k $5.5M (exactly $5,489,303) Lunar Software
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead $29.99 2,331 74% 70k $2.1M (exactly $2,097,201) Stormind Games
The Scourge | Tai Ương $19.99 1,192 93% 36k $715k (exactly $714,842) Rare Reversee, Beaztek
DON'T SCREAM TOGETHER $7.99 2,314 49% 69k $555k (exactly $554,666) Digital Cybercherries
Garten of Banban 8: Anti Devil $9.99 1,574 88% 47k $472k (exactly $471,728) Euphoric Brothers
Dead Take $14.99 752 87% 23k $338k (exactly $338,174) Surgent Studios
THRESHOLD $9.99 1,103 84% 33k $331k (exactly $330,569) Julien Eveillé
The Cabin Factory $2.99 3,455 90% 104k $310k (exactly $309,914) International Cat Studios
Dread Flats $5.99 1,453 83% 44k $261k (exactly $261,104) Ghostcase
DYSTHANASIA $24.99 334 88% 10k $250k (exactly $250,400) Madowaku Kobo

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