Do I ship it?

Games › Base Building › Base Building + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Base Building game?

Base Building + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 24 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up Base Building game 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.. 31 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $170k, ×281 the market median. Revenue is up 1690% on the market; 31 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 1690% on the market, 31 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Base Building + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.0k → $2.0k → $599 → $450 → $179 → $1.4k → $4.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Base Building + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $8.6k (exactly $8,630)
Top 5% $177k (exactly $176,523)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 70
Announced 31
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 1690% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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.

Base Building
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Base Building, Shoot 'Em Up; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelite
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 94% positive over 25,980 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $960, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. All of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Base Building with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + ProgrammingFair13 devs · median $53k · 21 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair12 devs · median $13k · 19 announced
  3. + Bullet HellFair61 devs · median $540 · 67 announced
  4. + DiplomacyPoor odds19 devs · median $520k · 47 announced
  5. + SailingPoor odds9 devs · median $356k · 38 announced
  6. + Dating SimPoor odds19 devs · median $128k · 21 announced
  7. + TrainsPoor odds19 devs · median $113k · 47 announced
  8. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds20 devs · median $73k · 35 announced
  9. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds130 devs · median $72k · 262 announced
  10. + UndergroundPoor odds12 devs · median $65k · 71 announced
  11. + MarsPoor odds15 devs · median $58k · 28 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds81 devs · median $58k · 175 announced

All 175 pairs on the Base Building page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BALL x PIT 2025 · $11M Patch Quest 2023 · $925k GIBZ 2017 · $237k Ultimate Zombie Defense 2 2025 · $177k WAR RATS: The Rat em Up 2025 · $137k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BALL x PIT $14.99 24,714 95% 741k $11M (exactly $11,113,886) Kenny Sun and Friends
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
GIBZ older $5.99 1,321 88% 40k $237k (exactly $237,384) Torrunt
Ultimate Zombie Defense 2 $9.99 589 76% 18k $177k (exactly $176,523) Terror Dog Studio
WAR RATS: The Rat em Up $11.99 382 95% 11k $137k (exactly $137,405) wootusart Industries
Zombie Builder Defense 2 older $9.99 210 84% 6.3k $63k (exactly $62,937) Noham Games
Frontline Crisis older $5.99 348 87% 10k $63k (exactly $62,536) BCQT
They Are Coming · EA older $2.99 624 90% 19k $56k (exactly $55,973) OnHit Developments
Space Robinson: Hardcore Roguelike Action older $9.99 162 66% 4.9k $49k (exactly $48,551) Luxorix Games
Kritter: Defend Together $9.99 109 86% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,667) LJF Games
Cast Out Colony $9.99 72 91% 2.2k $22k (exactly $21,578) Wooshido
Siegecaster $8.99 32 62% 960 $8.6k (exactly $8,630) Half Human Games, Boss Corridor
Zaxoid $14.99 14 100% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) M80 Games
Obliterator-X $5.99 34 85% 1.0k $6.1k (exactly $6,110) Webbysoft
Asteroid Odyssey $4.99 30 36% 900 $4.5k (exactly $4,491) LampDog Studio
Xeno Rangers $11.99 4 100% 120 $1.4k (exactly $1,439) 9000 Legends

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