Games › Arena Shooter › Arena Shooter + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Arena Shooter?
Arena Shooter + Horror
Of 80 developers who shipped a Horror Arena 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.. 75 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×316 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 75 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $7.2k (exactly $7,198) |
| Top 5% | $199k (exactly $198,747) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 80 |
| Released games | 226 |
| Announced | 75 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Arena Shooter
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Horror
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Arena Shooter; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, FPS
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 3,788 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 50 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Arena Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + IncrementalFair
- + DemonsFair
- + 2D PlatformerFair
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + CollectathonLong shot
- + DeckbuildingPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
- + Class-BasedPoor odds
- + Boomer ShooterPoor odds
- + Dark FantasyPoor odds
- + On-Rails ShooterPoor odds
- + RPGPoor odds
Comparable games
DUSK 2018 · $13M 
Quake 2007 · $4.2M 
Prodeus 2022 · $4.1M 
Quake II 2007 · $2.6M 
Devil Daggers 2016 · $2.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | DUSK | older | $19.99 | 22,073 97% | 662k | $13M (exactly $13,237,178) | David Szymanski |
| | Quake | older | $9.99 | 13,962 96% | 419k | $4.2M (exactly $4,184,411) | id Software, Nightdive Studios, Machine… (id Software, Nightdive Studios, MachineGames) |
| | Prodeus | older | $24.99 | 5,505 92% | 165k | $4.1M (exactly $4,127,098) | Bounding Box Software Inc. |
| | Quake II | older | $9.99 | 8,526 95% | 256k | $2.6M (exactly $2,555,242) | id Software, Nightdive Studios, Machine… (id Software, Nightdive Studios, MachineGames) |
| | Devil Daggers | older | $9.99 | 7,442 96% | 223k | $2.2M (exactly $2,230,367) | Sorath |
 | WRATH: Aeon of Ruin | older | $24.99 | 1,975 75% | 59k | $1.5M (exactly $1,480,658) | KillPixel Games, Slipgate Ironworks |
 | Quake 4 | older | $14.99 | 3,115 87% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,400,816) | RavenSoft, id Software |
 | Half-Life Deathmatch: Source | older | $9.99 | 4,361 74% | 131k | $1.3M (exactly $1,306,992) | Valve |
 | Alien Shooter | older | $4.99 | 3,919 95% | 118k | $587k (exactly $586,674) | Sigma Team Inc. |
 | Painkiller: Black Edition | older | $9.99 | 1,928 89% | 58k | $578k (exactly $577,822) | People Can Fly |
 | ODDCORE | · EA | $12.99 | 1,080 96% | 32k | $421k (exactly $420,876) | ODDCORP |
 | Viscerafest | $19.99 | 540 87% | 16k | $324k (exactly $323,838) | Acid Man Games, Fire Plant Games | |
 | Kvark | $19.99 | 461 86% | 14k | $276k (exactly $276,462) | Latest Past, Perun Creative | |
 | BAIONLENJA | · EA | $12.99 | 510 97% | 15k | $199k (exactly $198,747) | BAION |
 | HELLBREAK | $14.99 | 275 76% | 8.3k | $124k (exactly $123,668) | Double Barrel Games | |
 | Golden Chambers | · EA | $19.99 | 195 80% | 5.9k | $117k (exactly $116,941) | Mr. Pink |
 | Devilated | $19.99 | 163 85% | 4.9k | $98k (exactly $97,751) | Trunka | |
 | Midnight Murder Club | $9.99 | 304 71% | 9.1k | $91k (exactly $91,109) | Velan Studios | |
 | Death In Abyss | $19.99 | 146 82% | 4.4k | $88k (exactly $87,556) | Agelvik | |
 | MeowGun: Hell Denizen | $12.99 | 114 98% | 3.4k | $44k (exactly $44,426) | SusaDeBastet |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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