Do I ship it?

Games › 3D Fighter › 3D Fighter + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up 3D Fighter?

3D Fighter + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 39 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up 3D Fighter 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.. 43 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $90 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 43 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 970% on the market, 43 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
3D Fighter + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 39
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $599 → $240 → $30 → $240 → $179 (still earning) → $269 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 3D Fighter + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 39
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $90 (exactly $90)
Top 25% $419 (exactly $419)
Top 5% $6.6k (exactly $6,638)
Developers, 2 yr 39
Released games 100
Announced 43
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $2.99

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 970% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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.

3D Fighter
effort 7 / 10 · low · 3D hit volumes plus the fighting-game tuning load
Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
3D Fighter, Shoot 'Em Up; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Shooter
Price point
$2.99 typical · top 25% priced $6.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Funny, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $6.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.

The top 10 games average 63% positive over 914 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 $90, 1 in 4 over $410, 1 in 20 over $6.6k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

3D Fighter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + ManagementFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair34 devs · median $2.1k · 42 announced
  3. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.2k · 3 announced
  4. + Choose Your Own AdventureLong shot17 devs · median $1.0k · 20 announced
  5. + RhythmLong shot9 devs · median $898 · 8 announced
  6. + CollectathonLong shot15 devs · median $598 · 6 announced
  7. + ModernLong shot12 devs · median $539 · 10 announced
  8. + SimulationLong shot83 devs · median $538 · 96 announced
  9. + FightingPoor odds55 devs · median $5.0k · 87 announced
  10. + WrestlingPoor odds11 devs · median $2.3k · 21 announced
  11. + Life SimPoor odds10 devs · median $2.1k · 21 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds14 devs · median $1.6k · 25 announced

All 126 pairs on the 3D Fighter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BLACKWOOD 2026 · $424k Frenzy VR 2022 · EA · $92k The Wraith of the Galaxy 2023 · EA · $58k Geometry Survivor 2024 · $12k CPU Invaders - 3i Atlas 2025 · $12k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BLACKWOOD $24.99 565 46% 17k $424k (exactly $423,580) AttritoM7 Productions
Frenzy VR · EA older $14.99 205 60% 6.2k $92k (exactly $92,188) Innoverse Ltd
The Wraith of the Galaxy · EA older $11.99 161 81% 4.8k $58k (exactly $57,912) Whale Rock Games
Geometry Survivor older $4.99 82 69% 2.5k $12k (exactly $12,275) Brain Seal Ltd
CPU Invaders - 3i Atlas $4.99 77 98% 2.3k $12k (exactly $11,527) Microblast Games
Great Tough Bikini 6 $2.99 74 70% 2.2k $6.6k (exactly $6,638) nStarcube
MAGIC CHAOS older $6.99 20 90% 600 $4.2k (exactly $4,194) SUPER STARMINE
Angry Putin older $0.99 140 91% 4.2k $4.2k (exactly $4,158) Seito Games
Asteroid Blaster VR older $4.99 24 87% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) A-Blast Games
Galaxy Arena older $4.99 15 73% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) CICUN
CPU Invaders - Aim Hero $0.99 53 100% 1.6k $1.6k (exactly $1,574) Microblast Games
CPU Invaders - Movie Attack $0.99 42 100% 1.3k $1.2k (exactly $1,247) Microblast Games
MEMOLOGY: ESCAPE OF MEMES $0.99 35 91% 1.1k $1.0k (exactly $1,040) Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel
CPU Invaders - Micro Spheres $0.99 31 100% 930 $921 (exactly $921) Microblast Games
Dead Station Together $0.99 27 77% 810 $802 (exactly $802) cnsgames
Legend of the Moon 2 $2.99 8 87% 240 $718 (exactly $718) GozipGame
Iron Skies $7.99 2 50% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Matthew Lalande

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