Do I ship it?

Games › Gun Customization › Gun Customization + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Gun Customization game?

Gun Customization + Aliens

Of 26 developers who shipped an Alien Gun Customization 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.. 37 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $780, ×1.2 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $89; 1 in 20 cleared $560k, ×898 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 37 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 37 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Gun Customization + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $21k → $1.0k → $629 → $1.2k → $959 → $1.4k → $150 (still earning) → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Gun Customization + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $776 (exactly $776)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Top 5% $564k (exactly $564,035)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 86
Announced 37
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 50% on the market, supply as many developers as 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.

Gun Customization
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Aliens
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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
Gun Customization; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Shooter, Action, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric
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 68% positive over 4,873 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $780, 1 in 4 over $1.6k, 1 in 20 over $560k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 8 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Gun Customization with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Tower DefenseFair26 devs · median $958 · 32 announced
  2. + DystopianPoor odds16 devs · median $51k · 58 announced
  3. + Immersive SimPoor odds12 devs · median $25k · 44 announced
  4. + BuildingPoor odds13 devs · median $16k · 39 announced
  5. + Survival HorrorPoor odds26 devs · median $14k · 55 announced
  6. + ModernPoor odds18 devs · median $14k · 38 announced
  7. + MilitaryPoor odds50 devs · median $13k · 126 announced
  8. + StealthPoor odds20 devs · median $13k · 63 announced
  9. + Co-opPoor odds31 devs · median $11k · 92 announced
  10. + MechsPoor odds12 devs · median $11k · 32 announced
  11. + Resource ManagementPoor odds28 devs · median $11k · 71 announced
  12. + Base BuildingPoor odds23 devs · median $9.1k · 64 announced

All 93 pairs on the Gun Customization page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Extraction 2023 · $3.4M Predator: Hunting Grounds 2021 · $2.8M Level Zero: Extraction 2025 · $1.5M Soda Crisis 2022 · $961k TurretGirls 2025 · $564k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Extraction older $39.99 2,865 66% 86k $3.4M (exactly $3,437,140) Ubisoft Montreal
Predator: Hunting Grounds older $19.99 4,635 76% 139k $2.8M (exactly $2,779,610) IllFonic
Level Zero: Extraction $19.99 2,446 50% 73k $1.5M (exactly $1,466,866) Doghowl Games
Soda Crisis older $10.99 2,915 93% 87k $961k (exactly $961,076) Team Soda
TurretGirls $9.99 1,882 85% 56k $564k (exactly $564,035) NANAIRO ENTERPRISE
Roboquest VR $29.99 395 87% 12k $355k (exactly $355,382) Flat2VR Studios, RyseUp Studios
Genome Guardian older $11.99 711 92% 21k $256k (exactly $255,747) Alpherior
Siege of Centauri older $14.99 350 64% 11k $157k (exactly $157,395) Stardock Entertainment
Dreadhunter · EA older $24.99 141 77% 4.2k $106k (exactly $105,708) Trickster Arts
Otherskin $29.99 63 69% 1.9k $57k (exactly $56,681) Game Atelier
Cosmic Carnage $4.49 37 94% 1.1k $5.0k (exactly $4,984) LionSword
AIRANBLADE $8.99 17 94% 510 $4.6k (exactly $4,585) ANIMABOX
Suit Up $4.99 11 90% 330 $1.6k (exactly $1,647) Awkward Wolf Studios Limited
Stellara Vanguard $5.99 8 75% 240 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Pretoriano_dev
Rogue Station Defense $7.99 5 100% 150 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Cladcake
Intergalactic Defenders · EA $3.99 9 100% 270 $1.1k (exactly $1,077) Mert TASKIRAN

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