Do I ship it?

Games › Boomer Shooter › Boomer Shooter + Beat 'em up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Beat 'em up Boomer Shooter?

Boomer Shooter + Beat 'em up

Of 21 developers who shipped a Beat 'em up Boomer 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.. 16 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $150 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 12 developers shipped in the last year and 16 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 795% on the market, 16 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Boomer Shooter + Beat 'em up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $0 → $90 → $449 → $748 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Boomer Shooter + Beat 'em up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $449 (exactly $449)
Top 5% $16k (exactly $16,192)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 29
Announced 16
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $2.99

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 795% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Boomer Shooter
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Beat 'em up
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Boomer Shooter, Beat 'em up; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action-Adventure
Price point
$2.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Pixel Graphics, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.

The top 10 games average 92% positive over 989 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 $150, 1 in 4 over $440, 1 in 20 over $16k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. All of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Co-opFair16 devs · median $6.9k · 24 announced
  2. + WarFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 22 announced
  3. + DemonsFair51 devs · median $3.6k · 56 announced
  4. + Bullet TimeFair30 devs · median $1.7k · 30 announced
  5. + Psychological HorrorFair24 devs · median $1.3k · 29 announced
  6. + ZombiesFair50 devs · median $659 · 47 announced
  7. + Bullet HellFair109 devs · median $599 · 77 announced
  8. + SpaceFair39 devs · median $539 · 43 announced
  9. + Survival HorrorFair27 devs · median $449 · 28 announced
  10. + SurvivalLong shot39 devs · median $359 · 32 announced
  11. + Hero ShooterLong shot30 devs · median $210 · 21 announced
  12. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds36 devs · median $12k · 52 announced

All 61 pairs on the Boomer Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Brush Burial: Gutter World 2025 · $251k Rebel Engine 2025 · $16k REAPER 2024 · $5.3k CONCRETE VISIONS 2024 · $3.3k Emitters - Drone Invasions 2018 · $2.4k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Brush Burial: Gutter World $9.99 838 93% 25k $251k (exactly $251,149) Knife Demon Software
Rebel Engine $19.99 27 81% 810 $16k (exactly $16,192) Seven Leaf Clover
REAPER $2.99 59 84% 1.8k $5.3k (exactly $5,292) DOSMan Games
CONCRETE VISIONS older $1.99 56 69% 1.7k $3.3k (exactly $3,343) DOSMan Games (Legacy)
Emitters - Drone Invasions older $15.99 5 100% 150 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) HYTEK94
Bloodmatch $3.99 19 84% 570 $2.3k (exactly $2,274) DOSMan Games
GUN.DOG.REVENGE $4.00 18 100% 540 $2.2k (exactly $2,160) MEWSTURBO
DEFENSORES DEL BARRIO $4.99 5 80% 150 $748 (exactly $748) PERNICH MEDIA
HANDOVER $2.99 5 80% 150 $449 (exactly $449) Jolly Fox
Hard as Hell $0.99 14 85% 420 $416 (exactly $416) L4S Games, KAPPIRE
Sunset Street Ninja $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) SkeletronMK, The1AndonlyBloo
EndlessRain · EA $4.99 2 100% 60 $299 (exactly $299) airnuri

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