Do I ship it?

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

Specimen · observed

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

3D Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 31 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up 3D 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.. 41 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $210 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 15 developers shipped in the last year and 41 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 105% on the market, 41 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
3D Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.1k → $898 → $300 → $180 → $178 → $450 → $239 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 3D Platformer + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $210 (exactly $210)
Top 25% $539 (exactly $539)
Top 5% $49k (exactly $48,576)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 122
Announced 41
Effort 5 / 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: 11%, 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.

3D Platformer
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
3D Platformer, Shoot 'Em Up; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Arcade
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 260 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 $210, 1 in 4 over $530, 1 in 20 over $48k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 41 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + TransportationFair13 devs · median $3.1k · 12 announced
  2. + MiningFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 11 announced
  3. + Dating SimFair36 devs · median $748 · 29 announced
  4. + GolfFair16 devs · median $719 · 16 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair44 devs · median $716 · 39 announced
  6. + SokobanFair12 devs · median $599 · 9 announced
  7. + Survival HorrorFair111 devs · median $539 · 104 announced
  8. + Perma DeathFair36 devs · median $537 · 36 announced
  9. + AutomationFair25 devs · median $450 · 21 announced
  10. + OffroadLong shot14 devs · median $478 · 12 announced
  11. + Looter ShooterLong shot23 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  12. + CatsLong shot66 devs · median $420 · 74 announced

All 216 pairs on the 3D Platformer page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Journey To The Savage Planet 2021 · $5.1M Saints Row®: The Third™ Remastered 2021 · $3.6M Squirrel with a Gun 2024 · $1.9M Mythical Concept STARNAUT 2025 · $60k Rocket Assault: Downhill Rush 2023 · $50k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Journey To The Savage Planet older $29.99 5,674 87% 170k $5.1M (exactly $5,104,898) Typhoon
Saints Row®: The Third™ Remastered older $29.99 3,968 73% 119k $3.6M (exactly $3,570,010) Deep Silver Volition, Sperasoft
Squirrel with a Gun older $19.99 3,112 86% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,866,266) Dee Dee Creations LLC
Mythical Concept STARNAUT $29.99 67 92% 2.0k $60k (exactly $60,280) crim Co., Ltd.
Rocket Assault: Downhill Rush older $7.99 209 92% 6.3k $50k (exactly $50,097) Giovanni Elgert
UNDER DEFEAT $19.99 81 95% 2.4k $49k (exactly $48,576) CITY CONNECTION, TAKE×0FF
Diatomic older $9.99 135 76% 4.1k $40k (exactly $40,460) Diatomic Studios
WAIFU IMPACT older $5.99 148 85% 4.4k $27k (exactly $26,596) Mitsuki Game Studio
2076 - Midway Multiverse older $19.99 40 80% 1.2k $24k (exactly $23,988) Ivanovich Games
Presentiment of Death older $14.99 45 71% 1.4k $20k (exactly $20,236) XOCUS
FZ: Formation Z $29.99 16 87% 480 $14k (exactly $14,395) Granzella Inc.
KIPIDON: We Will Always Love You $7.99 34 100% 1.0k $8.2k (exactly $8,150) JCPORTALS
CYBERSLAYER: No Time to Regret $4.99 25 92% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) KAEV Games
Galatico · EA $7.99 13 100% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Galatico Studios
Chicken Strike®: Cluck Ops™ $1.99 14 42% 420 $836 (exactly $836) Bamboléo Games
Super Space Arcade $5.99 3 66% 90 $539 (exactly $539) Worgames
Rockoon $3.00 5 100% 150 $450 (exactly $450) Rockoon Team
The Last Hope: Exodus $5.00 2 0% 60 $300 (exactly $300) Shaheer Saleem

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