Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Platformer › 2D Platformer + Bullet Hell

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Bullet Hell 2D Platformer?

2D Platformer + Bullet Hell

Of 190 developers who shipped a Bullet Hell 2D Platformer 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.. 170 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 107 developers shipped in the last year and 170 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 15% on the market, 170 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Platformer + Bullet Hell
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 190
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $180 → $269 → $299 → $599 → $430 → $898 → $150 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Platformer + Bullet Hell: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 190
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $2.0k (exactly $1,978)
Top 5% $18k (exactly $17,991)
Developers, 2 yr 190
Released games 532
Announced 170
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $4.78

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 15% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Bullet Hell
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
2D Platformer, Bullet Hell; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Platformer
Price point
$4.78 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.78.

The top 10 games average 76% positive over 3,592 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $17k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 107 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 170 games are announced against 107 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Platformer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + JRPGFair150 devs · median $4.2k · 157 announced
  2. + VampiresFair47 devs · median $1.9k · 50 announced
  3. + MechsFair33 devs · median $1.8k · 44 announced
  4. + PinballFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 9 announced
  5. + WesternFair10 devs · median $1.3k · 13 announced
  6. + CRPGFair62 devs · median $1.2k · 76 announced
  7. + Psychological HorrorFair178 devs · median $1.0k · 185 announced
  8. + Arena ShooterFair45 devs · median $809 · 43 announced
  9. + MiningFair38 devs · median $748 · 45 announced
  10. + RoguelikeFair264 devs · median $599 · 320 announced
  11. + Party-Based RPGFair55 devs · median $599 · 42 announced
  12. + Tactical RPGFair58 devs · median $599 · 49 announced

All 226 pairs on the 2D Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Neon Abyss 2020 · $19M Gensokyo Night Festival 2019 · EA · $1.8M Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef 2022 · $1.6M ScourgeBringer 2020 · $1.3M Neon Abyss 2 2025 · EA · $1.2M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Neon Abyss older $31.49 19,709 86% 591k $19M (exactly $18,619,092) Veewo Games
Gensokyo Night Festival · EA older $12.99 4,497 69% 135k $1.8M (exactly $1,752,481) WSS playground, tea_basira
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef older $19.99 2,586 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) Rogueside
ScourgeBringer older $16.99 2,642 87% 79k $1.3M (exactly $1,346,627) Flying Oak Games, E-Studio
Neon Abyss 2 · EA $19.99 1,968 68% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210) Veewo Games
Exit the Gungeon older $9.99 3,400 74% 102k $1.0M (exactly $1,018,980) Dodge Roll, Singlecore
Portal Dungeon older $14.99 995 88% 30k $447k (exactly $447,452) Dusk Dog Studio
DEVIL BLADE REBOOT older $15.99 827 98% 25k $397k (exactly $396,712) SHIGATAKE GAMES
Garbanzo Quest older $19.99 652 98% 20k $391k (exactly $391,004) zagawee
Glimmer in Mirror · EA older $16.99 758 75% 23k $386k (exactly $386,353) MapleDorm Games
GRADIUS ORIGINS $39.99 241 92% 7.2k $289k (exactly $289,128) KONAMI, M2 Co.,LTD
PROJECT TACHYON $17.99 117 83% 3.5k $63k (exactly $63,145) STUDIO N9
DaemonBride:ADDITIONAL GAIN $19.99 94 82% 2.8k $56k (exactly $56,372) Team Arcana, Kizawaya
Hellbrella $7.99 182 95% 5.5k $44k (exactly $43,625) Icy Mountain Studios
Mamorukun ReCurse! $24.99 56 94% 1.7k $42k (exactly $41,983) CITY CONNECTION, TAKE×0FF
DUNGEON RAZE $2.99 458 85% 14k $41k (exactly $41,083) KOTARO YOSHIDA
Thunder Tank: Iron Shield $3.99 221 82% 6.6k $26k (exactly $26,454) Crazy Studio
Magical Blush $14.99 58 94% 1.7k $26k (exactly $26,083) Alkacer Game Studio
Beach Defense: Zombie Invasion $3.99 197 81% 5.9k $24k (exactly $23,581) Only Fun Games

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