Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Artificial Intelligence

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an AI Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Artificial Intelligence

Of 26 developers who shipped an AI Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 26 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 15 developers shipped in the last year and 26 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 26 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Artificial Intelligence
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $750 → $359 → $599 → $179 → $239 → $659 (still earning) → $8.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Artificial Intelligence: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 5% $116k (exactly $115,684)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 95
Announced 26
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 up 140% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Artificial Intelligence
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Shoot 'Em Up; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Shooter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
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 89% positive over 1,357 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shoot 'Em Up with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FaithFair13 devs · median $17k · 13 announced
  2. + RomanceFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  4. + Quick-Time EventsFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair39 devs · median $628 · 36 announced
  6. + IdlerFair36 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  7. + Tower DefenseFair70 devs · median $599 · 54 announced
  8. + Resource ManagementFair26 devs · median $599 · 34 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair749 devs · median $419 · 783 announced
  10. + SwordplayLong shot13 devs · median $300 · 5 announced
  11. + MusicPoor odds12 devs · median $9.0k · 12 announced
  12. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $8.1k · 20 announced

All 169 pairs on the Shoot 'Em Up page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Kill It With Fire 2020 · $1.6M Touhou Kinjoukyou ～ Fossilized Wonders. 2025 · $374k Swarm Bunker: Lust Defense 2026 · $116k Project Beril / 贝丽尔养成计划 2022 · $19k The Stranger VR 2020 · $15k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Kill It With Fire older $12.99 4,036 95% 121k $1.6M (exactly $1,572,829) Casey Donnellan Games LLC
Touhou Kinjoukyou ～ Fossilized Wonders. $14.99 832 91% 25k $374k (exactly $374,150) 上海アリス幻樂団
Swarm Bunker: Lust Defense $9.99 386 88% 12k $116k (exactly $115,684) 001Studio-NSFW
Project Beril / 贝丽尔养成计划 older $9.99 63 88% 1.9k $19k (exactly $18,881) SlimeSmile
The Stranger VR older $9.99 49 73% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,685) RealityArts Studio
Gravitar: Recharged older $9.99 40 85% 1.2k $12k (exactly $11,988) Adamvision Studios, SneakyBox
SUPERVERSE $9.99 37 70% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,089) Superverse Industries
WAVECADE older $9.99 27 92% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) Andrew Spalato, Lewis Spalato
Milky Rush-Two Paths $3.99 67 74% 2.0k $8.0k (exactly $8,020) snappixgames
The Phoenix Gene VR $24.99 10 100% 300 $7.5k (exactly $7,497) HEROmation
ROBOCRACY $11.99 9 88% 270 $3.2k (exactly $3,237) DGMA
Timeloop Titans $9.99 5 100% 150 $1.5k (exactly $1,498) LapaGames
Destruction of Heavenly Bliss $6.99 5 100% 150 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) AISA
Bread or Dead · EA $6.99 4 25% 120 $839 (exactly $839) Paul Wallace, John Wallace
Zaetherfall $10.99 2 50% 60 $659 (exactly $659) ReNZE GAMES

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