Games › Third-Person Shooter › Third-Person Shooter + Aliens
Should I ship an Alien Third-Person Shooter?
Third-Person Shooter + Aliens
Of 49 developers who shipped an Alien Third-Person 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.. 103 more are announced, ×4.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300. 103 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.9 per shipper, while revenue is down 45% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 25% | $23k (exactly $22,642) |
| Top 5% | $292k (exactly $292,442) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 49 |
| Released games | 220 |
| Announced | 103 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 45% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Third-Person Shooter
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Aliens
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Third-Person Shooter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 5,727 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 103 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.9 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Third-Person Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RhythmStrong odds
- + WesternFair
- + CollectathonLong shot
- + Time ManagementLong shot
- + Walking SimulatorLong shot
- + Class-BasedPoor odds
- + Creature CollectorPoor odds
- + DinosaursPoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
- + Alternate HistoryPoor odds
- + Level EditorPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
Comparable games
Dead Space 2023 · $113M 
STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II 2020 · $105M 
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 2021 · $64M 
Saints Row IV: Re-Elected 2013 · $34M 
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2021 · $19M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dead Space | older | $59.99 | 62,997 90% | 1.9M | $113M (exactly $113,375,701) | Motive |
| | STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II | older | $39.99 | 87,494 88% | 2.6M | $105M (exactly $104,966,552) | DICE |
| | Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy | older | $59.99 | 35,397 93% | 1.1M | $64M (exactly $63,703,981) | Eidos-Montréal |
| | Saints Row IV: Re-Elected | older | $19.99 | 57,525 87% | 1.7M | $34M (exactly $34,497,742) | Deep Silver Volition |
| | Aliens: Fireteam Elite | older | $29.99 | 21,668 80% | 650k | $19M (exactly $19,494,700) | Cold Iron Studios |
 | EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 5 | older | $59.99 | 9,375 93% | 281k | $17M (exactly $16,872,188) | SANDLOT |
 | Dead Space™ 2 | older | $19.99 | 25,897 94% | 777k | $16M (exactly $15,530,431) | Visceral Games |
 | Dead Space (2008) | older | $19.99 | 22,890 92% | 687k | $14M (exactly $13,727,133) | EA Redwood Shores |
 | EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6 | older | $59.99 | 6,225 69% | 187k | $11M (exactly $11,203,132) | SANDLOT |
 | Destroy All Humans! | older | $29.99 | 8,971 92% | 269k | $8.1M (exactly $8,071,209) | Black Forest Games, Pandemic Studios |
 | Greedland | $12.99 | 2,919 83% | 88k | $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534) | VaMP He | |
 | The Thing: Remastered | $29.99 | 1,203 89% | 36k | $1.1M (exactly $1,082,339) | Nightdive Studios, Computer Artworks | |
 | EARTH DEFENSE FORCE: WORLD BROTHERS 2 | $49.99 | 195 89% | 5.9k | $292k (exactly $292,442) | YUKE'S | |
 | ENTITY: THE BLACK DAY | $17.99 | 494 79% | 15k | $267k (exactly $266,612) | ASD Games Studio | |
 | LIFE EFFECT Survival | · EA | $14.99 | 488 85% | 15k | $219k (exactly $219,454) | LIFE EFFECT |
 | 閃攻機人アスラ - ASURA THE STRIKER - | $14.99 | 145 91% | 4.4k | $65k (exactly $65,206) | LeftOver | |
 | Otherskin | $29.99 | 63 69% | 1.9k | $57k (exactly $56,681) | Game Atelier | |
 | Cowboy 3030 | $14.99 | 96 87% | 2.9k | $43k (exactly $43,171) | Soy Boy Games | |
 | Operation Night Strikers | $24.99 | 48 77% | 1.4k | $36k (exactly $35,986) | M2 Co., Ltd. | |
 | Breed Laboratory | $14.99 | 76 86% | 2.3k | $34k (exactly $34,177) | Moey |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.