Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Survival Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Survival Horror?

Survival Horror

Of 1,878 developers who shipped a 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.. 3,264 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $350; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×628 the market median. Revenue is up 40% on the market; 3,264 games are announced against 1,084 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 40% on the market, 3,264 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Survival Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,878
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $2.2k → $2.6k → $1.8k → $1.3k → $1.6k → $1.3k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Survival Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,878
Bottom 30% $349 (exactly $349)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,346)
Top 25% $9.6k (exactly $9,581)
Top 5% $394k (exactly $394,387)
Developers, 2 yr 1,878
Released games 5,459
Announced 3,264
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 up 40% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.

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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

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
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $16.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $16.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 860,405 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $350, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $9.5k, 1 in 20 over $390k.

3 in 10 developers made under $350. 8 in 10 of the 1,041 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 3,264 games are announced against 1,084 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Survival Horror

113 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Survival Horror + FMV Fair $31k 13 devs
  2. Driving + Survival Horror Fair $4.9k 20 devs
  3. Survival Horror + Tower Defense Fair $1.9k 14 devs
  4. Survival Horror + Incremental Fair $1.6k 16 devs
  5. Sports + Survival Horror Fair $959 5 devs
  6. Survival Horror + Outbreak Sim Fair $958 22 devs
  7. Survival Horror + 3D Platformer Fair $539 111 devs
  8. Survival Horror + Boomer Shooter Fair $449 27 devs
  9. Survival Horror + Turn-Based Combat Poor odds $64k 10 devs
  10. Spectacle fighter + Survival Horror Poor odds $52k 8 devs
  11. Social Deduction + Survival Horror Poor odds $18k 14 devs
  12. Survival Horror + Dating Sim Poor odds $17k 21 devs
  13. Open World Survival Craft + Survival Horror Poor odds $17k 23 devs
  14. Survival Horror + Life Sim Poor odds $15k 27 devs
  15. Survival Horror + Metroidvania Poor odds $14k 14 devs
  16. Gun Customization + Survival Horror Poor odds $14k 26 devs
  17. Co-op Campaign + Survival Horror Poor odds $14k 19 devs
  18. Survival Horror + Building Poor odds $13k 45 devs
  19. Souls-like + Survival Horror Poor odds $9.6k 22 devs
  20. Survival Horror + Base Building Poor odds $7.2k 60 devs
  21. Survival Horror + Card Game Poor odds $6.3k 19 devs
  22. Sandbox + Survival Horror Poor odds $5.7k 63 devs
  23. Co-op + Survival Horror Poor odds $5.3k 259 devs
  24. Survival Horror + Escape Room Poor odds $4.9k 41 devs
  25. Online Co-Op + Survival Horror Poor odds $4.7k 290 devs
  26. Survival Horror + Crafting Poor odds $4.2k 103 devs
  27. Action RPG + Survival Horror Poor odds $4.2k 74 devs
  28. Character Customization + Survival Horror Poor odds $4.0k 65 devs
  29. RPG + Survival Horror Poor odds $3.2k 173 devs
  30. Survival Horror + Visual Novel Poor odds $3.1k 55 devs
  31. PvP + Survival Horror Poor odds $2.7k 74 devs
  32. Open World + Survival Horror Poor odds $2.6k 164 devs
  33. Immersive Sim + Survival Horror Poor odds $2.5k 169 devs
  34. Survival Horror + Loot Poor odds $2.4k 48 devs
  35. Survival Horror + Hack and Slash Poor odds $2.4k 38 devs
  36. Hunting + Survival Horror Poor odds $2.2k 36 devs
  37. Third-Person Shooter + Survival Horror Poor odds $2.1k 100 devs
  38. Survival Horror + Investigation Poor odds $2.1k 197 devs
  39. Survival Horror + Management Poor odds $2.1k 40 devs
  40. Survival Horror + Exploration Poor odds $2.0k 933 devs
  41. Survival Horror + Physics Poor odds $2.0k 109 devs
  42. Survival Horror + Multiple Endings Poor odds $1.9k 312 devs
  43. JRPG + Survival Horror Poor odds $1.9k 13 devs
  44. Survival Horror + Choices Matter Poor odds $1.9k 170 devs
  45. Survival Horror + Simulation Poor odds $1.9k 342 devs
  46. Survival Horror + Roguelite Poor odds $1.8k 76 devs
  47. Survival Horror + Platformer Poor odds $1.8k 47 devs
  48. Survival Horror + Adventure Poor odds $1.8k 1,283 devs
  49. Stealth + Survival Horror Poor odds $1.7k 408 devs
  50. Survival Horror + Inventory Management Poor odds $1.6k 121 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

DayZ 2018 · $582M Dead by Daylight 2016 · $411M The Forest 2018 · $349M Subnautica 2018 · $307M Dying Light 2015 · $280M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DayZ older $49.99 387,850 78% 12M $582M (exactly $581,658,645) Bohemia Interactive
Dead by Daylight older $19.99 685,423 78% 21M $411M (exactly $411,048,173) Behaviour Interactive Inc.
The Forest older $19.99 581,431 95% 17M $349M (exactly $348,684,171) Endnight Games Ltd
Subnautica older $29.99 341,390 97% 10M $307M (exactly $307,148,583) Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Dying Light older $24.99 373,413 95% 11M $280M (exactly $279,947,726) Techland
Project Zomboid · EA older $24.99 364,830 94% 11M $274M (exactly $273,513,051) The Indie Stone
Sons Of The Forest older $29.99 284,572 88% 8.5M $256M (exactly $256,029,428) Endnight Games Ltd
Left 4 Dead 2 older $9.99 816,316 97% 24M $245M (exactly $244,649,905) Valve
Resident Evil Requiem $69.99 106,931 95% 3.2M $225M (exactly $224,523,021) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Resident Evil 4 older $39.99 186,701 97% 5.6M $224M (exactly $223,985,190) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Subnautica 2 · EA $29.99 116,852 91% 3.5M $105M (exactly $105,131,744) Unknown Worlds Entertainment
SILENT HILL 2 $69.99 43,367 94% 1.3M $91M (exactly $91,057,690) Bloober Team SA
Escape from Tarkov $49.99 55,824 49% 1.7M $84M (exactly $83,719,253) Battlestate Games
PEAK $7.99 301,964 94% 9.1M $72M (exactly $72,380,771) Team PEAK
The Last of Us™ Part II Remastered $49.99 34,252 90% 1.0M $51M (exactly $51,367,724) Naughty Dog LLC, Nixxes Software, Iron… (Naughty Dog LLC, Nixxes Software, Iron Galaxy Studios)
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon $44.99 33,560 87% 1.0M $45M (exactly $45,295,932) Questline
Escape the Backrooms $9.99 137,315 90% 4.1M $41M (exactly $41,153,306) Fancy Games, Blackbird Interactive
SILENT HILL f $69.99 19,061 80% 572k $40M (exactly $40,022,382) NeoBards Entertainment Ltd.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword $69.99 11,279 89% 338k $24M (exactly $23,682,516) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

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