Do I ship it?

GamesHero ShooterHero Shooter + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + 2D Platformer

Of 28 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Hero Shooter 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.. 25 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×0.7 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $21k, ×16 the market median. Revenue is up 705% on the market; 25 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 705% on the market, 25 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $898 → $239 → $1.9k → $90 → $2.2k → $1.1k → $2.2k (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,514)
Top 5% $21k (exactly $21,279)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 104
Announced 25
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 705% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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 Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter, 2D Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Arcade, Action, Platformer
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Side Scroller
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 78% positive over 406 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $900, 1 in 4 over $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $21k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 16 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
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider older $16.99 489 85% 15k $249k (exactly $249,243) JoyMasher
Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening $24.99 119 77% 3.6k $89k (exactly $89,214) Magic Pockets
Planet Cube: Edge older $14.99 110 90% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,467) Sunna Entertainment
METAL SUITS: Counter-attack $9.99 71 77% 2.1k $21k (exactly $21,279) Gonggamore Contents
Alien Strike: Blasting the Intruders $9.99 57 85% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,083) Combo Game Studio
Bots City older $49.99 10 90% 300 $15k (exactly $14,997) Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
Cosmos Bit older $4.99 97 86% 2.9k $15k (exactly $14,521) SEEP
Random Heroes: Gold Edition older $4.99 86 69% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,874) Woblyware, Somepx
Agent in Depth older $2.99 108 93% 3.2k $9.7k (exactly $9,688) Naturepixel Studios, SkyBrave
Heat and Run · EA older $10.99 28 96% 840 $9.2k (exactly $9,232) DAMNATIO GAMES
Luna Hollow - Dream Eater Defense $5.99 32 53% 960 $5.8k (exactly $5,750) CHARON, STUDIO CHARON, 月桂樹冠
Dinopunk: the Cacops adventure $7.99 18 94% 540 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) The Dude Games
Doom Survivor: Horde Rush $2.99 38 86% 1.1k $3.4k (exactly $3,409) Crazy Studio
Super Weapon Master 超级武器大师 $3.99 21 57% 630 $2.5k (exactly $2,514) Idea Cat
SorcerialBladeCannon $12.99 6 66% 180 $2.3k (exactly $2,338) MACHINECODE
HougekiShoujo $3.99 19 89% 570 $2.3k (exactly $2,274) チーム魔愚路, TeamMAGURO
Rayadillo · EA $2.99 25 84% 750 $2.2k (exactly $2,242) Rayadillo Games

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