Do I ship it?

Games › Looter Shooter › Looter Shooter + Base Building

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Base Building Looter Shooter?

Looter Shooter + Base Building

Of 36 developers who shipped a Base Building Looter 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.. 74 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $9.1k, ×6.1 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $25M, ×17296 the market median. Revenue is up 685% on the market; 74 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 685% on the market, 74 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Looter Shooter + Base Building
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.5k → $3.4k → $5.7k → $255k → $1.5k → $30k → $900 (still earning) → $13k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Looter Shooter + Base Building: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $449 (exactly $449)
Median $9.1k (exactly $9,114)
Top 25% $82k (exactly $81,713)
Top 5% $26M (exactly $25,909,632)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 78
Announced 74
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $11.69

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 685% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Looter Shooter
effort 8 / 10 · low · online co-op and a loot economy on top of a shooter
Base Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Looter Shooter, Base Building; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Survival, Open World, Shooter
Price point
$11.69 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $11.69.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 138,106 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $9.1k, 1 in 4 over $81k, 1 in 20 over $25M.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + MechsFair13 devs · median $219k · 14 announced
  2. + Vehicular CombatFair11 devs · median $15k · 14 announced
  3. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  4. + 3D PlatformerLong shot23 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds31 devs · median $71k · 73 announced
  6. + Online Co-OpPoor odds54 devs · median $25k · 136 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds56 devs · median $25k · 124 announced
  8. + Twin Stick ShooterPoor odds18 devs · median $16k · 44 announced
  9. + DystopianPoor odds14 devs · median $10k · 45 announced
  10. + Character CustomizationPoor odds50 devs · median $9.0k · 151 announced
  11. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds27 devs · median $6.9k · 61 announced
  12. + RobotsPoor odds23 devs · median $6.0k · 32 announced

All 90 pairs on the Looter Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Escape From Duckov 2025 · $45M Deadside 2024 · $26M Outpost: Infinity Siege 2024 · $8.7M ZERO Sievert 2024 · $8.6M Pax Autocratica 2026 · EA · $2.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Escape From Duckov $17.99 83,826 85% 2.5M $45M (exactly $45,240,892) Team Soda
Deadside $24.99 34,560 76% 1.0M $26M (exactly $25,909,632) Bad Pixel
Outpost: Infinity Siege older $24.99 11,636 65% 349k $8.7M (exactly $8,723,509) Team Ranger
ZERO Sievert $19.99 14,378 84% 431k $8.6M (exactly $8,622,487) CABO Studio
Pax Autocratica · EA $29.99 3,202 91% 96k $2.9M (exactly $2,880,839) Multiverse
DeadPoly · EA older $9.99 5,384 78% 162k $1.6M (exactly $1,613,585) TFL Games
Urge · EA older $17.99 499 90% 15k $269k (exactly $269,310) EnDrew
Heat Death: Survival Train · EA $11.99 709 77% 21k $255k (exactly $255,027) Mass Game Devs
Nuclear Epoch $14.99 487 78% 15k $219k (exactly $219,004) Cat Play Studio
Fargone · EA older $11.99 527 70% 16k $190k (exactly $189,562) RedDot Games
Keep Her Safe · EA $9.99 382 97% 11k $114k (exactly $114,485) Gugu Studio
Blood Running $16.99 198 68% 5.9k $101k (exactly $100,921) Dead Unicorn
Exit Ways · EA $11.69 233 22% 7.0k $82k (exactly $81,713) ASKES
Grim $19.99 131 53% 3.9k $79k (exactly $78,561) Spoonfed Interactive

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