Do I ship it?

GamesActionAction + Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Twin Stick Shooter Action game?

Action + Twin Stick Shooter

Of 439 developers who shipped a Twin Stick Shooter 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.. 742 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×232 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 742 games are announced against 240 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 742 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action + Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 439
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $2.7k → $1.1k → $3.0k → $1.7k → $1.2k → $599 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action + Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 439
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,078)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,800)
Top 5% $146k (exactly $145,954)
Developers, 2 yr 439
Released games 1,573
Announced 742
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 55% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Twin Stick Shooter
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
Action, Twin Stick Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Bullet Hell, Action Roguelike, Shooter
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 54,686 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $4.8k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 223 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 742 games are announced against 240 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
Enter the Gungeon older $14.99 79,392 95% 2.4M $36M (exactly $35,702,582) Dodge Roll
The Ascent older $29.99 19,235 74% 577k $17M (exactly $17,305,730) Neon Giant
HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition older $19.99 25,663 90% 770k $15M (exactly $15,390,101) Arrowhead Game Studios
Bastion older $14.99 28,223 95% 847k $13M (exactly $12,691,883) Supergiant Games
Soulstone Survivors $14.99 25,749 91% 772k $12M (exactly $11,579,325) Game Smithing Limited
Darksiders Genesis older $29.99 10,379 82% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) Airship Syndicate
ROUNDS older $5.99 35,738 95% 1.1M $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) Landfall
RUINER older $19.99 10,338 89% 310k $6.2M (exactly $6,199,699) Reikon Games
SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising older $19.99 10,111 94% 303k $6.1M (exactly $6,063,567) Flow Fire Games
Nuclear Throne older $11.99 15,047 96% 451k $5.4M (exactly $5,412,406) Vlambeer
Rogue: Genesia $14.99 8,111 90% 243k $3.6M (exactly $3,647,517) Ouadi Huard
Cleared Hot · EA $17.99 3,934 96% 118k $2.1M (exactly $2,123,180) Not Knowing Corporation
Hell Clock $19.99 3,535 82% 106k $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) Rogue Snail
Suit for Hire $14.99 3,263 92% 98k $1.5M (exactly $1,467,371) Godmode Interactive
Greedland $12.99 2,919 83% 88k $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534) VaMP He
Temtem: Swarm $12.99 2,487 77% 75k $969k (exactly $969,184) Crema, GGTech Studios
KILL KNIGHT $14.99 1,804 93% 54k $811k (exactly $811,259) PlaySide
Relic Hunters Legend $19.99 1,101 65% 33k $660k (exactly $660,270) Rogue Snail
NIMRODS · EA $9.99 1,783 85% 53k $534k (exactly $534,365) Fiveamp

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