Do I ship it?

Games › Hero Shooter › Hero Shooter + 3D Fighter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 3D Fighter Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + 3D Fighter

Only 19 developers shipped a 3D 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.. 26 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $120 in the last 2 years and $120 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build. 10 developers shipped in the last year and 26 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 125% on the market, 26 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + 3D Fighter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $0 → $120 → $150 → $1.2k (still earning) → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + 3D Fighter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $120 (exactly $120)
Top 25% $479 (exactly $479)
Top 5% $10k (exactly $10,190)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 67
Announced 26
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 125% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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
3D Fighter
effort 7 / 10 · low · 3D hit volumes plus the fighting-game tuning load

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter, 3D Fighter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Bullet Hell, Arcade
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Minimalist, 2.5D
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 95% positive over 269 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $120, 1 in 4 over $470, 1 in 20 over $10k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

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

J15 Jet Fighter VR (歼15舰载机) 2018 · EA · $13k CPU Invaders - 3i Atlas 2025 · $12k Timewell: Trail of Celestes 2022 · $11k Bakemono - Demon Brigade Tenmen Unit 01 2020 · EA · $10k Wasteland with Robots 2026 · $10k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
J15 Jet Fighter VR (歼15舰载机) · EA older $9.99 44 47% 1.3k $13k (exactly $13,187) Magicvalley Studio
CPU Invaders - 3i Atlas $4.99 77 98% 2.3k $12k (exactly $11,527) Microblast Games
Timewell: Trail of Celestes older $17.99 20 85% 600 $11k (exactly $10,794) OZBER CIN
Bakemono - Demon Brigade Tenmen Unit 01 · EA older $19.99 17 70% 510 $10k (exactly $10,195) SuperSane Games
Wasteland with Robots $9.99 34 94% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Gamesforgames
Makber older $12.99 9 11% 270 $3.5k (exactly $3,507) celikgames
Dark Days : Devil Hunt older $12.99 8 37% 240 $3.1k (exactly $3,118) Mavi Game Studios
War Of Gold older $4.99 16 62% 480 $2.4k (exactly $2,395) Tero Lunkka, Valkeala Software
Oil Invasion older $4.99 13 53% 390 $1.9k (exactly $1,946) Ruskija game experience, Valkeala Softw… (Ruskija game experience, Valkeala Software)
Hunter Moonstrike : Ai NPCs version $15.99 4 0% 120 $1.9k (exactly $1,919) 10nstudio
CPU Invaders - Aim Hero $0.99 53 100% 1.6k $1.6k (exactly $1,574) Microblast Games
Zombies In Valkeala $2.99 15 66% 450 $1.3k (exactly $1,346) Tero Lunkka, Valkeala Software
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
Iron Skies $7.99 2 50% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Matthew Lalande
Last Stand: Zombie Horde $1.99 8 100% 240 $478 (exactly $478) KOZGAMES
Urban Rangers Arcade 2 $4.99 3 100% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Anthems-0

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