Do I ship it?

GamesHero ShooterHero Shooter + 2D Fighter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Fighter Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + 2D Fighter

Only 13 developers shipped a 2D Fighter Hero Shooter 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, CPU Invaders - 3i Atlas, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 10 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build. 11 developers shipped in the last year and 10 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 10 announced, ×0.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + 2D Fighter
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: $386 → $1.9k → $4.2k → $597 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + 2D Fighter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 13
Bottom 30% $61 (exactly $61)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $597 (exactly $597)
Top 5% $4.2k (exactly $4,196)
Developers, 2 yr 13
Released games 55
Announced 10
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $3.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 450% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Hero Shooter
effort 9 / 10 · low · competitive netcode plus hero balance and content cadence
2D Fighter
effort 5 / 10 · low · frame-precise animation and rollback netcode

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter, 2D Fighter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Arena Shooter
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $4.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2.5D, 2D, Minimalist
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $4.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 97% positive over 259 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $61, median $240, 1 in 4 over $590, 1 in 20 over $4.1k.

3 in 10 developers made under $61. 8 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 10 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hero Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SimulationLong shot31 devs · median $478 · 28 announced
  2. + Bullet HellLong shot59 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  3. + Boomer ShooterLong shot30 devs · median $210 · 21 announced
  4. + MedievalLong shot10 devs · median $150 · 12 announced
  5. + Online Co-OpPoor odds20 devs · median $7.2k · 51 announced
  6. + SuperheroPoor odds6 devs · median $6.3k · 11 announced
  7. + Battle RoyalePoor odds9 devs · median $3.6k · 29 announced
  8. + Co-opPoor odds22 devs · median $3.6k · 53 announced
  9. + PvPPoor odds27 devs · median $2.3k · 127 announced
  10. + PlatformerPoor odds21 devs · median $2.2k · 33 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds25 devs · median $2.1k · 68 announced
  12. + PhysicsPoor odds27 devs · median $1.6k · 34 announced

All 87 pairs on the Hero Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Random Heroes: Gold Edition older $4.99 86 69% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,874) Woblyware, Somepx
CPU Invaders - 3i Atlas $4.99 77 98% 2.3k $12k (exactly $11,527) Microblast Games
Worker Riot older $24.99 11 81% 330 $8.2k (exactly $8,247) Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
捜査官の試練INVESTIGATOR TRIALS older $3.99 43 88% 1.3k $5.1k (exactly $5,147) GreenTeaGame
Survalker $9.99 14 85% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Gamesforgames
Boulette Hell older $6.99 16 100% 480 $3.4k (exactly $3,355) Lucas Delvallet, Quentin Delvallet
Rayadillo · EA $2.99 25 84% 750 $2.2k (exactly $2,242) Rayadillo Games
Knights & Guns older $3.99 16 93% 480 $1.9k (exactly $1,915) Baltoro Games
CPU Invaders - Aim Hero $0.99 53 100% 1.6k $1.6k (exactly $1,574) Microblast Games
Crazy Mafioso older $2.99 16 93% 480 $1.4k (exactly $1,435) Rabotiagi games
CPU Invaders - Movie Attack $0.99 42 100% 1.3k $1.2k (exactly $1,247) Microblast Games
CPU Invaders - Micro Spheres $0.99 31 100% 930 $921 (exactly $921) Microblast Games
COSMIC WARFRONT $1.99 10 100% 300 $597 (exactly $597) Gamesforfarm
Urban Rangers Arcade 2 $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Anthems-0
ESTRELLAS MECANICAS - La gran chispa Tournament $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) SkullBomb Entertainment
Olbers Paradox $3.99 2 100% 60 $239 (exactly $239) Neko Sphere

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