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Should I ship an Alternate-History Shoot 'Em Up?
Shoot 'Em Up + Alternate History
Only 14 developers shipped an Alternate-History Shoot 'Em Up in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Sexy Iron Maidens, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 29 more are announced, ×9.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $450 against a market of $630. 29 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $449 (exactly $449) |
| Top 25% | $1.9k (exactly $1,851) |
| Top 5% | $18k (exactly $18,413) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 70 |
| Announced | 29 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 up 10% on the market, supply 75% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Shoot 'Em Up
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Alternate History
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Shoot 'Em Up
- Price point
- $4.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 233 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 29 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×9.7 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Shoot 'Em Up with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FaithFair
- + RomanceFair
- + VampiresFair
- + Quick-Time EventsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Resource ManagementFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + SwordplayLong shot
- + MusicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
Comparable games
Hunt Down The Freeman 2018 · $1.1M 
SEX with HITLER 2022 · $704k 
Multi Turret Academy 2024 · EA · $480k 
Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded 2009 · $377k 
IS Defense 2016 · $263k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Hunt Down The Freeman | older | $9.99 | 3,785 54% | 114k | $1.1M (exactly $1,134,364) | Royal Rudius Entertainment |
| | SEX with HITLER | older | $6.99 | 3,358 81% | 101k | $704k (exactly $704,173) | Adolf Games |
| | Multi Turret Academy | · EA older | $8.99 | 1,778 95% | 53k | $480k (exactly $479,527) | Yulia Games |
| | Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded | older | $4.99 | 2,517 92% | 76k | $377k (exactly $376,795) | Sigma Team Inc. |
| | IS Defense | older | $5.99 | 1,465 91% | 44k | $263k (exactly $263,260) | Destructive Creations |
 | Titan Attacks! | older | $9.99 | 654 92% | 20k | $196k (exactly $196,004) | Puppygames |
 | Jamestown | older | $9.99 | 652 94% | 20k | $195k (exactly $195,404) | Final Form Games |
 | Get To Work, Succubus-Chan! | older | $9.99 | 480 78% | 14k | $144k (exactly $143,856) | SmallSqurriel, Eternal Alice Game |
 | Journey to the West Survivor | older | $5.99 | 379 78% | 11k | $68k (exactly $68,106) | Buding Games |
 | Aircraft Evolution | older | $8.99 | 221 80% | 6.6k | $60k (exactly $59,604) | Satur Entertainment |
 | Sexy Iron Maidens | $4.99 | 123 69% | 3.7k | $18k (exactly $18,413) | Earl Marx | |
 | Chimera CUSTOM XG | · EA | $19.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $7.8k (exactly $7,796) | Volok Games |
 | Agent Fall | $4.99 | 24 95% | 720 | $3.6k (exactly $3,593) | Pufferfish Digital | |
 | Pain to Satisfaction | · EA | $1.99 | 31 100% | 930 | $1.9k (exactly $1,851) | WSG Entertainment |
 | Attack of the Jersey Drones | $9.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $599 (exactly $599) | Nekomata Games LLC | |
 | The Island of Thugs | $0.99 | 19 78% | 570 | $564 (exactly $564) | Big Green Platypus | |
 | BloodBound Knights | $4.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $449 (exactly $449) | Gabtrex | |
 | Hard as Hell | $0.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $416 (exactly $416) | L4S Games, KAPPIRE | |
 | Pirates of Gravitae | $2.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $269 (exactly $269) | Innerverse Games | |
 | Time of War - Airstrike | · EA | $7.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $240 (exactly $240) | Complex Games Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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