Should I ship an Archery FPS?
FPS + Archery
Only 19 developers shipped an Archery FPS 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, Way of the Hunter 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×4.3 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. 30 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper, while revenue is down 10% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $600 (exactly $600) |
| Top 25% | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) |
| Top 5% | $1.6M (exactly $1,610,240) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 19 |
| Released games | 82 |
| Announced | 30 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 10% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS, Archery; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 2,998 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | BLACKTAIL | older | $29.99 | 1,968 83% | 59k | $1.8M (exactly $1,770,610) | THE PARASIGHT |
| | Way of the Hunter 2 | · EA | $34.99 | 1,534 73% | 46k | $1.6M (exactly $1,610,240) | Nine Rocks Games |
| | Northern Journey | older | $11.99 | 3,500 96% | 105k | $1.3M (exactly $1,258,950) | Slid Studio |
| | Dread Templar | older | $19.99 | 1,096 82% | 33k | $657k (exactly $657,271) | T19 Games |
| | Shady Knight | $19.99 | 898 93% | 27k | $539k (exactly $538,531) | Alexey 'cptnsigh' | |
| | Project Sparrow | · EA older | $9.99 | 1,067 88% | 32k | $320k (exactly $319,780) | Inspire Game Studios |
| | QuiVr | older | $19.99 | 482 88% | 14k | $289k (exactly $289,055) | Blueteak |
| | The Axis Unseen | $24.99 | 309 75% | 9.3k | $232k (exactly $231,657) | Just Purkey Games | |
| | Unknightly | · EA older | $19.99 | 221 69% | 6.6k | $133k (exactly $132,534) | Portal Studios |
| | The End of Dyeus | older | $14.99 | 181 88% | 5.4k | $81k (exactly $81,396) | Curious Planet |
| | Psionic Sentry : Infinite | · EA | $4.99 | 215 83% | 6.5k | $32k (exactly $32,186) | Roy, 響雨互動娛樂, HowlingRain |
| | South America Gold Rush | · EA | $9.99 | 9 44% | 270 | $2.7k (exactly $2,697) | Argo Games |
| | Arrows and Antiquity | $4.99 | 16 87% | 480 | $2.4k (exactly $2,395) | True Neutral Studios | |
| | Tactical Archer | $19.99 | 3 33% | 90 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | Dejevis | |
| | Ancestral Players | · EA | $5.85 | 10 100% | 300 | $1.8k (exactly $1,755) | ENSLIP |
| | Polygon In | $7.99 | 3 33% | 90 | $719 (exactly $719) | Infinity Requiem Studio | |
| | Survivors Dawn: Zombie World | $19.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $600 (exactly $600) | Uygar Bursalıoğlu |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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