Do I ship it?

Games › Arena Shooter › Arena Shooter + RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Arena Shooter RPG?

Arena Shooter + RPG

Of 88 developers who shipped an Arena Shooter RPG 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.. 124 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $310k, ×501 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 124 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 124 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arena Shooter + RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 88
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $836 → $899 → $1.9k → $2.5k → $5.8k → $719 → $300 (still earning) → $1.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arena Shooter + RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 88
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.4k (exactly $1,439)
Top 25% $14k (exactly $13,663)
Top 5% $315k (exactly $314,834)
Developers, 2 yr 88
Released games 301
Announced 124
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 70% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Arena Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
RPG
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Arena Shooter, RPG; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Bullet Hell, Action Roguelike
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.50 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.50 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 11,150 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $1.4k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $310k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 56 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 124 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Arena Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + IncrementalFair15 devs · median $3.5k · 20 announced
  2. + DemonsFair54 devs · median $1.3k · 55 announced
  3. + 2D PlatformerFair45 devs · median $809 · 43 announced
  4. + Multiple EndingsFair18 devs · median $597 · 16 announced
  5. + CollectathonLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 13 announced
  6. + DeckbuildingPoor odds9 devs · median $3.1k · 26 announced
  7. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds75 devs · median $2.3k · 101 announced
  8. + Class-BasedPoor odds19 devs · median $2.2k · 50 announced
  9. + Boomer ShooterPoor odds133 devs · median $1.8k · 165 announced
  10. + Dark FantasyPoor odds59 devs · median $1.7k · 85 announced
  11. + On-Rails ShooterPoor odds10 devs · median $1.5k · 11 announced
  12. + DystopianPoor odds22 devs · median $1.4k · 70 announced

All 134 pairs on the Arena Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Strike Force Heroes 2023 · $2.5M Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok 2024 · $1.9M Ziggurat 2014 · $1.3M Vampire Hunters 2024 · $873k God Of Weapons 2023 · $864k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Strike Force Heroes older $19.99 4,193 79% 126k $2.5M (exactly $2,514,542) Sky9 Games
Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok older $9.99 6,180 88% 185k $1.9M (exactly $1,852,146) Noxfall Studios
Ziggurat older $14.99 2,835 86% 85k $1.3M (exactly $1,274,900) Milkstone Studios
Vampire Hunters $14.99 1,941 89% 58k $873k (exactly $872,868) Gamecraft Studios
God Of Weapons older $5.99 4,807 84% 144k $864k (exactly $863,818) Imagine Games
Arms of God · EA $11.50 1,871 88% 56k $645k (exactly $645,495) Dark Jay Studio
AK-xolotl: Together older $18.99 1,094 75% 33k $623k (exactly $623,252) 2Awesome Studio
Alien Shooter older $4.99 3,919 95% 118k $587k (exactly $586,674) Sigma Team Inc.
Bounty of One older $6.99 2,749 88% 82k $576k (exactly $576,465) OptizOnion
Alien Shooter 2 - The Legend older $14.99 1,087 52% 33k $489k (exactly $488,824) Sigma Team Inc.
FatalZone $6.99 2,125 66% 64k $446k (exactly $445,612) Midhard Games
Noobs Are Coming $7.99 1,580 82% 47k $379k (exactly $378,726) Overboy
Vital Shell $5.99 1,752 96% 53k $315k (exactly $314,834) MarvinWizard
CyberCorp $14.99 351 75% 11k $158k (exactly $157,845) Megame LLC
Astroloot · EA $6.99 587 92% 18k $123k (exactly $123,094) Andreas Hager Gaming
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
Golden Chambers · EA $19.99 195 80% 5.9k $117k (exactly $116,941) Mr. Pink
Dark Fairy Tale: Dreamland Survivors $4.99 479 90% 14k $72k (exactly $71,706) BINGOBELL

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