Do I ship it?

Games › Action-Adventure › Action-Adventure + Bullet Heaven

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Bullet Heaven Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Bullet Heaven

Of 23 developers who shipped a Bullet Heaven Action-Adventure 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.. 44 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×545 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 44 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 44 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Bullet Heaven
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $81k → $3.3k (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Bullet Heaven: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $538 (exactly $538)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,294)
Top 5% $342k (exactly $342,257)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 33
Announced 44
Effort 6 / 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 40% on the market, supply 565% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Bullet Heaven
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Action-Adventure, Bullet Heaven; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
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 81% positive over 4,174 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $540, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $340k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 44 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair63 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  2. + MinigamesFair18 devs · median $6.7k · 19 announced
  3. + BikesFair11 devs · median $2.5k · 11 announced
  4. + TransportationFair21 devs · median $2.3k · 22 announced
  5. + MotorbikeFair9 devs · median $2.3k · 12 announced
  6. + TypingLong shot14 devs · median $360 · 16 announced
  7. + Time AttackLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 17 announced
  8. + Character Action GamePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  9. + MMORPGPoor odds15 devs · median $25k · 116 announced
  10. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds49 devs · median $25k · 133 announced
  11. + LGBTQ+Poor odds81 devs · median $24k · 135 announced
  12. + Villain ProtagonistPoor odds12 devs · median $17k · 26 announced

All 242 pairs on the Action-Adventure page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Neon Abyss 2020 · $19M TerraTech Legion 2026 · $632k The Knight Witch 2022 · $386k Night Swarm 2025 · $342k BORE BLASTERS 2024 · $212k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Neon Abyss older $31.49 19,709 86% 591k $19M (exactly $18,619,092) Veewo Games
TerraTech Legion $9.99 2,109 81% 63k $632k (exactly $632,067) Payload Studios
The Knight Witch older $19.99 643 72% 19k $386k (exactly $385,607) Super Mega Team
Night Swarm $9.99 1,142 78% 34k $342k (exactly $342,257) Fubu Games
BORE BLASTERS older $9.99 709 80% 21k $212k (exactly $212,487) 8BitSkull
Survivors of the Dawn · EA older $7.99 694 73% 21k $166k (exactly $166,352) indieGiant
Little Witch Survivors $4.99 543 87% 16k $81k (exactly $81,287) 四月二酱
Murim Survival $7.99 264 75% 7.9k $63k (exactly $63,281) Sunwood Games
Westale: Peelgrimage older $4.99 411 66% 12k $62k (exactly $61,527) 两把刷子工作室
Boomerang Jack $14.99 14 100% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) Recall Interactive
BARD'S FAULT $9.99 21 80% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Sunabi Studios
AHAPIKA – Heroic Agency · EA $4.99 22 100% 660 $3.3k (exactly $3,293) Pixeliantika
Dachs Hunter $4.99 22 86% 660 $3.3k (exactly $3,293) HFBros
Tied to the Beat · EA $4.99 21 100% 630 $3.1k (exactly $3,144) Javier Lianes García
Pets Survivors $3.99 16 100% 480 $1.9k (exactly $1,915) Vergiu

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