Do I ship it?

GamesShooterShooter + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer Shooter?

Shooter + 2D Platformer

Of 292 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer 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.. 341 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 154 developers shipped in the last year and 341 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 105% on the market, 341 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 292
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $748 → $898 → $299 → $418 → $599 → $539 → $539 (still earning) → $59 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 292
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $419 (exactly $419)
Top 25% $2.3k (exactly $2,336)
Top 5% $45k (exactly $45,105)
Developers, 2 yr 292
Released games 996
Announced 341
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 105% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Shooter, 2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Arcade
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 8,988 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 $420, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $45k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 179 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 341 games are announced against 154 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair23 devs · median $9.8k · 17 announced
  2. + CollectathonFair69 devs · median $1.4k · 64 announced
  3. + VampiresFair38 devs · median $1.3k · 41 announced
  4. + Walking SimulatorFair68 devs · median $1.2k · 62 announced
  5. + IdlerFair70 devs · median $836 · 59 announced
  6. + Match 3Fair15 devs · median $719 · 5 announced
  7. + SnowFair22 devs · median $570 · 23 announced
  8. + Boss RushFair16 devs · median $537 · 20 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair85 devs · median $479 · 88 announced
  10. + ArcadeLong shot1,151 devs · median $419 · 1,332 announced
  11. + Score AttackLong shot372 devs · median $300 · 352 announced
  12. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds25 devs · median $139k · 45 announced

All 229 pairs on the Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

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
魔女的夜宴 older $34.99 9,664 98% 290k $10M (exactly $10,144,301) YUZUSOFT
Mega Man 11 older $29.99 4,312 89% 129k $3.9M (exactly $3,879,506) CAPCOM CO., LTD.
Door Kickers: Action Squad older $13.99 8,778 95% 263k $3.7M (exactly $3,684,127) PixelShard, KillHouse Games
Hidden Deep · EA older $24.99 4,293 76% 129k $3.2M (exactly $3,218,462) Cogwheel Software
To Be or Not to Be older $12.99 8,035 89% 241k $3.1M (exactly $3,131,240) Team K
Strike Force Heroes older $19.99 4,193 79% 126k $2.5M (exactly $2,514,542) Sky9 Games
Bishojo Mangekyo Kotowari to Meikyu no Shojo older $29.99 2,718 95% 82k $2.4M (exactly $2,445,385) ωstar, Seikei Production
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
Mega Man X Legacy Collection older $19.99 4,033 79% 121k $2.4M (exactly $2,418,590) CAPCOM CO., LTD
Terminator 2D: NO FATE $29.99 1,450 84% 44k $1.3M (exactly $1,304,565) Bitmap Bureau
Neon Abyss 2 · EA $19.99 1,968 68% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210) Veewo Games
CYAN BRAIN $14.99 1,463 89% 44k $658k (exactly $657,911) NEKOUJI
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
Guns of Fury $14.99 950 88% 29k $427k (exactly $427,215) Gelato Games Ltd
Nitro Express $12.99 1,069 75% 32k $417k (exactly $416,589) Grayfax Software
GRADIUS ORIGINS $39.99 241 92% 7.2k $289k (exactly $289,128) KONAMI, M2 Co.,LTD
Shotgun Cop Man $9.99 633 96% 19k $190k (exactly $189,710) DeadToast Entertainment
BioMenace Remastered $14.99 186 99% 5.6k $84k (exactly $83,644) Rigel Gameworks
SONIC WINGS REUNION $59.99 46 60% 1.4k $83k (exactly $82,786) SUCCESS Corp.

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