Do I ship it?

Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Arena Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Arena Shooter Class-Based game?

Class-Based + Arena Shooter

Only 19 developers shipped an Arena Shooter Class-Based game 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, Starship Troopers: Extermination, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 50 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $26M, ×17852 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 50 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 50 announced, ×5.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based + Arena Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $987 → $1.8k → $2.6k → $5.1k → $599 → $2.2k → $599 (still earning) → $7.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based + Arena Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $356 (exactly $356)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,246)
Top 25% $5.8k (exactly $5,846)
Top 5% $27M (exactly $26,742,683)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 79
Announced 50
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 65% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 30%, 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.

Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Arena Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Class-Based, Arena Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Combat
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 30,339 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $5.8k, 1 in 20 over $26M.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Class-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  2. + Bullet HeavenFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + SupernaturalLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  4. + 2D PlatformerLong shot26 devs · median $539 · 30 announced
  5. + FPSPoor odds22 devs · median $70k · 70 announced
  6. + MMORPGPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds18 devs · median $33k · 44 announced
  8. + WarPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 59 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds16 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds17 devs · median $13k · 42 announced
  11. + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  12. + WargamePoor odds14 devs · median $9.4k · 28 announced

All 111 pairs on the Class-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Starship Troopers: Extermination 2024 · $27M Deadlink 2023 · $2.2M Immortal Redneck 2017 · $1.3M TRIBES 3: Rivals 2024 · EA · $794k SNKRX 2021 · $377k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Starship Troopers: Extermination $29.99 29,724 80% 892k $27M (exactly $26,742,683) Offworld
Deadlink older $24.99 2,871 90% 86k $2.2M (exactly $2,152,389) Gruby Entertainment
Immortal Redneck older $19.95 2,211 90% 66k $1.3M (exactly $1,323,284) Crema
TRIBES 3: Rivals · EA older $19.99 1,324 61% 40k $794k (exactly $794,003) Prophecy Games
SNKRX older $2.99 4,198 94% 126k $377k (exactly $376,561) a327ex
Project Sparrow · EA older $9.99 1,067 88% 32k $320k (exactly $319,780) Inspire Game Studios
Apewar · EA older $0.99 6,890 92% 207k $205k (exactly $204,633) Radatomic Studios
Birds of War $9.99 439 87% 13k $132k (exactly $131,568) HexNest Games
FLERP older $2.99 401 86% 12k $36k (exactly $35,970) foolsroom
Ultra Mega Cats · EA $11.99 70 74% 2.1k $25k (exactly $25,179) Fallen Leaf, Unseen Silence, Black Drak… (Fallen Leaf, Unseen Silence, Black Drakkar Games)
SkillWarz · EA $9.99 24 95% 720 $7.2k (exactly $7,193) Baltverge Games
War of Wheels · EA $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Dreambits Studio
Battle Squares $9.99 17 76% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Feesh Studio
Red Crucible Assault · EA $14.99 7 100% 210 $3.1k (exactly $3,148) Massive Head Games
Bedroom Battlegrounds $9.99 10 90% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) WCHC
Neon Pulsefire $3.99 20 95% 600 $2.4k (exactly $2,394) Marian Kunz
Slime Battles $4.99 15 100% 450 $2.2k (exactly $2,246) Nish Studios

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