Do I ship it?

GamesBoss RushBoss Rush + Arcade

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Boss Rush Arcade game?

Boss Rush + Arcade

Of 32 developers who shipped a Boss Rush Arcade 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.. 38 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $42k, ×89 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 38 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 38 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Boss Rush + Arcade
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.8k → $23k → $3.0k → $8.1k → $538 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Boss Rush + Arcade: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $5.3k (exactly $5,267)
Top 5% $42k (exactly $42,258)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 61
Announced 38
Effort 4 / 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 70% on the market, supply 90% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Boss Rush
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Boss Rush, Arcade; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Shooter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cartoony, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,886 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $750, 1 in 4 over $5.2k, 1 in 20 over $42k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Boss Rush with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RPGFair20 devs · median $1.8k · 27 announced
  2. + Action RoguelikeFair20 devs · median $1.6k · 19 announced
  3. + Sci-fiFair17 devs · median $839 · 16 announced
  4. + ShooterFair16 devs · median $537 · 20 announced
  5. + Bullet HellFair27 devs · median $479 · 31 announced
  6. + Action-AdventurePoor odds20 devs · median $3.7k · 42 announced
  7. + Hack and SlashPoor odds13 devs · median $3.5k · 39 announced
  8. + CombatPoor odds49 devs · median $1.6k · 79 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds21 devs · median $1.6k · 44 announced
  10. + Dark FantasyPoor odds17 devs · median $1.6k · 30 announced
  11. + Action RPGPoor odds16 devs · median $1.6k · 32 announced
  12. + RoguelitePoor odds16 devs · median $1.6k · 21 announced

All 20 pairs on the Boss Rush page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Terminator 2D: NO FATE $29.99 1,450 84% 44k $1.3M (exactly $1,304,565) Bitmap Bureau
Air Twister older $24.99 101 93% 3.0k $76k (exactly $75,720) YS NET
ONE BTN BOSSES older $11.99 165 87% 5.0k $59k (exactly $59,350) Midnight Munchies
ZOE Begone! $9.99 141 100% 4.2k $42k (exactly $42,258) Retchy Games
Godstrike older $5.99 180 66% 5.4k $32k (exactly $32,346) OverPowered Team
Leftovers KO! $9.99 92 66% 2.8k $28k (exactly $27,572) Mountain Man Animation
Election Year Knockout older $9.99 79 88% 2.4k $24k (exactly $23,676) ExceptioNULL Games
Roto Force older $7.99 96 90% 2.9k $23k (exactly $23,011) Accidently Awesome
VOIDFACE $8.99 78 96% 2.3k $21k (exactly $21,037) Frog Hat Labs
Boss Rush: Mythology older $4.99 123 78% 3.7k $18k (exactly $18,413) Alexey Suslin
Gravity Storm: First Mission $9.99 27 100% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) Jampley Games
Baseless $12.99 15 93% 450 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Fermenter Games
Snack Invaders · EA $14.99 12 100% 360 $5.4k (exactly $5,396) Whippy Games
Dino Tower Arena $3.99 44 100% 1.3k $5.3k (exactly $5,267) OsKkarz_
Knockout 2: Wrath of the Karen · EA $19.99 7 85% 210 $4.2k (exactly $4,198) ExceptioNULL Games
King of Ping Pong: MEGAMIX $6.99 20 90% 600 $4.2k (exactly $4,194) Suspicious Jam

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