Do I ship it?

GamesAction-AdventureAction-Adventure + Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Twin Stick Shooter Action-Adventure?

Action-Adventure + Twin Stick Shooter

Of 62 developers who shipped a Twin Stick Shooter 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.. 152 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $40k, ×64 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 152 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 152 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action-Adventure + Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $2.7k → $1.1k → $2.1k → $1.5k → $748 → $1.5k (still earning) → $4.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action-Adventure + Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,349)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,995)
Top 5% $40k (exactly $40,262)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 234
Announced 152
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 20% on the market, supply as many developers as 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-Adventure
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Action-Adventure, Twin Stick Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Shooter
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,685 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $40k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 152 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef older $19.99 2,586 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) Rogueside
Redeemer: Enhanced Edition older $11.99 2,637 87% 79k $949k (exactly $948,529) Sobaka Studio
Rusted Moss older $19.99 1,575 88% 47k $945k (exactly $944,527) Emlise, happysquared, sunnydaze
Blazing Beaks older $14.99 2,043 84% 61k $919k (exactly $918,737) Applava
Revita older $16.99 1,734 83% 52k $884k (exactly $883,820) BenStar
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank older $14.99 1,890 95% 57k $850k (exactly $849,933) Snoozy Kazoo
From Space older $14.99 1,425 67% 43k $641k (exactly $640,822) Triangle Studios
Voidigo older $4.99 3,782 96% 113k $566k (exactly $566,165) semiwork
Insect Swarm older $6.99 2,491 84% 75k $522k (exactly $522,363) Parallel Portal
Brigador Killers · EA $24.99 572 69% 17k $429k (exactly $428,828) Stellar Jockeys, Gausswerks
Time Treker $6.99 399 65% 12k $84k (exactly $83,670) Fuse Game
DAMON and BABY $19.99 87 89% 2.6k $52k (exactly $52,174) Arc System Works
Donuts for Deer Teeth $6.99 192 98% 5.8k $40k (exactly $40,262) posmnaut, Hefty Totem, BirdLovely, Mizu… (posmnaut, Hefty Totem, BirdLovely, MizuBlackRiver, Prahno Audio)
Where the forest ends $9.99 132 68% 4.0k $40k (exactly $39,560) MonkeyBassGames
Look Mum No Computer $14.99 60 98% 1.8k $27k (exactly $26,982) The Bitfather
No Way Home $9.99 76 88% 2.3k $23k (exactly $22,777) SMG Studio
Rose and Locket $11.99 54 92% 1.6k $19k (exactly $19,424) Whistling Wizard
Galaxy Highways $9.99 61 96% 1.8k $18k (exactly $18,282) Nanopike
Calcium Chaos $9.99 52 96% 1.6k $16k (exactly $15,584) Lunch Money Games

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