Do I ship it?

Games › Looter Shooter › Looter Shooter + Aliens

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Alien Looter Shooter?

Looter Shooter + Aliens

Of 21 developers who shipped an Alien Looter Shooter 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.. 45 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 45 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper, while revenue is up 290% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 290% on the market, 45 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Looter Shooter + Aliens
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $239 → $718 → $0 → $1.1k → $449 → $1.2k → $2.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Looter Shooter + Aliens: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,823)
Top 5% $219k (exactly $219,454)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 64
Announced 45
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 up 290% on the market, supply 65% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Looter Shooter
effort 8 / 10 · low · online co-op and a loot economy on top of a shooter
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
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Looter Shooter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Atmospheric
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 70% positive over 1,535 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 $4.8k, 1 in 20 over $210k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Looter Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MechsFair13 devs · median $219k · 14 announced
  2. + Vehicular CombatFair11 devs · median $15k · 14 announced
  3. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  4. + 3D PlatformerLong shot23 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds31 devs · median $71k · 73 announced
  6. + Online Co-OpPoor odds54 devs · median $25k · 136 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds56 devs · median $25k · 124 announced
  8. + Twin Stick ShooterPoor odds18 devs · median $16k · 44 announced
  9. + DystopianPoor odds14 devs · median $10k · 45 announced
  10. + Base BuildingPoor odds36 devs · median $9.1k · 74 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds50 devs · median $9.0k · 151 announced
  12. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds27 devs · median $6.9k · 61 announced

All 90 pairs on the Looter Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Alien Shooter 2009 · $587k Alien Shooter 2 - The Legend 2020 · $489k Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded 2009 · $377k Project L33T: Founders Edition 2026 · $315k LIFE EFFECT Survival 2026 · EA · $219k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Alien Shooter older $4.99 3,919 95% 118k $587k (exactly $586,674) Sigma Team Inc.
Alien Shooter 2 - The Legend older $14.99 1,087 52% 33k $489k (exactly $488,824) Sigma Team Inc.
Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded older $4.99 2,517 92% 76k $377k (exactly $376,795) Sigma Team Inc.
Project L33T: Founders Edition $19.99 525 47% 16k $315k (exactly $314,842) Targetpoint Interactive, Holmgard Games
LIFE EFFECT Survival · EA $14.99 488 85% 15k $219k (exactly $219,454) LIFE EFFECT
Dreadhunter · EA older $24.99 141 77% 4.2k $106k (exactly $105,708) Trickster Arts
Pawn Planet $9.99 280 71% 8.4k $84k (exactly $83,916) Gambol Games
Die After Sunset older $19.99 80 62% 2.4k $48k (exactly $47,976) Playstark
Vortica $14.99 93 83% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) Vortical Studios
Astro Hunters VR older $19.99 64 60% 1.9k $38k (exactly $38,381) Wenkly Studio Sp. z o.o.
No Way Home $9.99 76 88% 2.3k $23k (exactly $22,777) SMG Studio
Alone in the Stars: Survivor $6.99 23 86% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) J6 Games
Galaxy Invaders - Eclipse Squadron $4.99 14 100% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) PlayCube Interactive
Depths of Insanity 3 $9.99 4 100% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) Sloppy Joe Studios
Increvaders $2.99 13 100% 390 $1.2k (exactly $1,166) Oblomoverie
Reality Core $1.99 19 100% 570 $1.1k (exactly $1,134) WubsGames

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