Do I ship it?

GamesActionAction + Boss Rush

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Boss Rush Action game?

Action + Boss Rush

Of 74 developers who shipped a Boss Rush Action game 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.. 123 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×215 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 123 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 123 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Boss Rush
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 74
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.8k → $23k → $3.4k → $3.0k → $4.2k → $5.8k → $119 (still earning) → $1.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Boss Rush: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 74
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $4.7k (exactly $4,676)
Top 5% $135k (exactly $134,796)
Developers, 2 yr 74
Released games 162
Announced 123
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 down 65% on the market, supply 110% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Action
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Boss Rush
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Action, Boss Rush; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Combat, Arcade, Souls-like
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $15.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Difficult, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $15.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 8,548 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $4.6k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. Nearly all of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 123 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Real-Time with PauseFair16 devs · median $103k · 18 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair25 devs · median $14k · 30 announced
  3. + PinballFair42 devs · median $2.6k · 48 announced
  4. + Escape RoomFair43 devs · median $1.8k · 40 announced
  5. + Football (American)Fair16 devs · median $1.3k · 6 announced
  6. + BaseballFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  7. + BilliardsFair19 devs · median $958 · 25 announced
  8. + IdlerFair225 devs · median $898 · 292 announced
  9. + TennisFair23 devs · median $628 · 12 announced
  10. + Time AttackFair90 devs · median $599 · 110 announced
  11. + TabletopFair71 devs · median $505 · 86 announced
  12. + WuxiaPoor odds9 devs · median $189k · 36 announced

All 288 pairs on the Action page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tribes of Midgard older $19.99 17,465 76% 524k $10M (exactly $10,473,760) Norsfell
Furi older $19.99 11,246 90% 337k $6.7M (exactly $6,744,226) The Game Bakers
Titan Souls older $14.99 8,002 82% 240k $3.6M (exactly $3,598,499) Acid Nerve
Rubinite $19.99 3,587 94% 108k $2.2M (exactly $2,151,124) Cup Dog Games, GameWorks Ventures
Eldest Souls older $19.99 3,125 76% 94k $1.9M (exactly $1,874,062) Fallen Flag Studio
Dinoblade $19.99 2,420 90% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,451,274) Team Spino LLC
Terminator 2D: NO FATE $29.99 1,450 84% 44k $1.3M (exactly $1,304,565) Bitmap Bureau
Jotun: Valhalla Edition older $14.99 2,215 77% 66k $996k (exactly $996,086) Thunder Lotus
NanoApostle older $19.99 1,184 95% 36k $710k (exactly $710,045) 18Light Game Ltd.
The Void Rains Upon Her Heart · EA older $12.99 1,655 99% 50k $645k (exactly $644,954) Veyeral Games
Gurei $15.99 281 83% 8.4k $135k (exactly $134,796) Lobo Sagaz studio
UNYIELDER $24.99 117 62% 3.5k $88k (exactly $87,715) TrueWorld Studios
Second Stellar · EA $4.99 334 99% 10k $50k (exactly $50,000) Pepperlog
ZOE Begone! $9.99 141 100% 4.2k $42k (exactly $42,258) Retchy Games
Leftovers KO! $9.99 92 66% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,572) Mountain Man Animation
Box Knight $14.99 48 93% 1.4k $22k (exactly $21,586) We Made A Thing Studios
VOIDFACE $8.99 78 96% 2.3k $21k (exactly $21,037) Frog Hat Labs

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