Do I ship it?

GamesTradingTrading + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Trading game?

Trading + Zombies

Only 13 developers shipped a Zombie Trading 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, Dustland Delivery, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 15 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $6.8k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $300k, ×482 the market median. Revenue is up 215% on the market; 15 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 10.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 215% on the market, 15 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Trading + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 13
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $539 → $1.5k → $10k
Outcomes for Trading + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $300 (exactly $300)
Median $6.8k (exactly $6,829)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $11,988)
Top 5% $303k (exactly $302,981)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 25
Announced 15
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 215% on the market, supply 40% fewer 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.

Trading
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Zombies
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Trading; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Economy, Management
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 2,076 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 $6.8k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $300k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 15 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Trading with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MiningFair32 devs · median $12k · 33 announced
  2. + Score AttackFair13 devs · median $600 · 13 announced
  3. + MMORPGPoor odds6 devs · median $206k · 42 announced
  4. + Character CustomizationPoor odds26 devs · median $60k · 137 announced
  5. + Online Co-OpPoor odds23 devs · median $47k · 84 announced
  6. + Co-opPoor odds24 devs · median $47k · 82 announced
  7. + FlightPoor odds6 devs · median $36k · 21 announced
  8. + SportsPoor odds11 devs · median $34k · 14 announced
  9. + CollectathonPoor odds28 devs · median $30k · 65 announced
  10. + PhysicsPoor odds23 devs · median $27k · 71 announced
  11. + DrivingPoor odds23 devs · median $24k · 48 announced
  12. + LootPoor odds23 devs · median $23k · 60 announced

All 109 pairs on the Trading page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dustland Delivery $7.99 1,264 88% 38k $303k (exactly $302,981) Neutron Star Studio
Alek - The Lost Kingdom · EA older $19.99 392 76% 12k $235k (exactly $235,082) Jessy Lemieux
Sex Shop Simulator: X-RAY DESIRE $6.99 448 68% 13k $94k (exactly $93,946) Doorway Games
Scheming Through The Zombie Apocalypse: The Beginning older $4.99 322 84% 9.7k $48k (exactly $48,203) Entertainment Forge
Apocalypse: The Last RV · EA $4.99 159 68% 4.8k $24k (exactly $23,802) 光年切片工作室
Zombie Chef $9.99 40 50% 1.2k $12k (exactly $11,988) Voidy
尸来运转-Lucky Zombie Survival $3.99 86 86% 2.6k $10k (exactly $10,294) Kwing works
Pirate Cove Simulator $9.99 34 61% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Kool2Play
T.D.Z. 4 Chapter 1 - Arrival $5.99 38 92% 1.1k $6.8k (exactly $6,829) Team GZ, VADIM CHURILOV
The One · EA older $9.99 19 63% 570 $5.7k (exactly $5,694) PolyLS
Onyx · EA $9.90 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,485) Dark Matter
We Don't Cry: Zombie Survival $11.99 1 0% 30 $360 (exactly $360) Bored Alchemist
Glory Defence $9.99 1 0% 30 $300 (exactly $300) Waytrel Studio

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