Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Bullet Hell
Should I ship a Bullet Hell Beat 'em up?
Beat 'em up + Bullet Hell
Of 68 developers who shipped a Bullet Hell Beat '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.. 105 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 35 developers shipped in the last year and 105 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $299 (exactly $299) |
| Top 25% | $1.2k (exactly $1,166) |
| Top 5% | $17k (exactly $17,019) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 68 |
| Released games | 220 |
| Announced | 105 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 100% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Beat 'em up
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Bullet Hell
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Beat 'em up, Bullet Hell; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelike
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 68% positive over 2,749 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 105 games are announced against 35 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Beat 'em up with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + RhythmFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + NinjaLong shot
- + Combat RacingLong shot
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + LootPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
Furi 2016 · $6.7M 
Gensokyo Night Festival 2019 · EA · $1.8M 
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef 2022 · $1.6M 
Full Metal Furies 2018 · $1.3M 
GOD FORSAKEN 2026 · $725k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Furi | older | $19.99 | 11,246 90% | 337k | $6.7M (exactly $6,744,226) | The Game Bakers |
| | Gensokyo Night Festival | · EA older | $12.99 | 4,497 69% | 135k | $1.8M (exactly $1,752,481) | WSS playground, tea_basira |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef | older | $19.99 | 2,586 87% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) | Rogueside |
| | Full Metal Furies | older | $19.99 | 2,108 91% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,264,168) | Cellar Door Games |
| | GOD FORSAKEN | $13.99 | 1,728 67% | 52k | $725k (exactly $725,242) | insight studio | |
 | UFO ROBOT GRENDIZER – The Feast of the Wolves | older | $39.99 | 559 84% | 17k | $671k (exactly $670,632) | Endroad |
 | Commando Collection | older | $4.99 | 1,414 95% | 42k | $212k (exactly $211,676) | Macrojoy |
 | Skybreakers | older | $8.99 | 629 75% | 19k | $170k (exactly $169,641) | Bingo Studio |
 | Pulling No Punches | older | $9.99 | 563 95% | 17k | $169k (exactly $168,731) | BrainDead Broccoli |
 | SealChain: Call of Blood | $8.99 | 537 56% | 16k | $145k (exactly $144,829) | AliveGameStudio | |
 | Yuri Sword Saga | $10.99 | 212 97% | 6.4k | $70k (exactly $69,896) | Pico Games | |
 | Gnaughty Gnomes | $7.99 | 71 100% | 2.1k | $17k (exactly $17,019) | SandCastles Studio | |
 | Banner of Conquest | $4.99 | 89 65% | 2.7k | $13k (exactly $13,323) | Haojoy Game | |
 | Adrenaline Rampage | $14.99 | 26 88% | 780 | $12k (exactly $11,692) | Midhard Games | |
 | Apocalypse Survivors | $8.99 | 26 57% | 780 | $7.0k (exactly $7,012) | The Last One | |
 | Project Lazarus 2 | $6.99 | 33 75% | 990 | $6.9k (exactly $6,920) | Terapoly | |
 | PopSlinger Vol. 2 - Loveless | $14.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) | Funky Can Creative | |
 | DASHPUNCH | $7.99 | 17 100% | 510 | $4.1k (exactly $4,075) | DoubleV |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.