Do I ship it?

GamesBoomer ShooterBoomer Shooter + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Boomer Shooter?

Boomer Shooter + Magic

Only 16 developers shipped a Magic Boomer Shooter in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Heretic + Hexen, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 40 more are announced, ×4.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $6.9k, ×11 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $660; 1 in 20 cleared $800k, ×1281 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 40 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 11.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 40 announced, ×4.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Boomer Shooter + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $134k → $15k → $528k → $6.9k → $659 (still earning) → $899 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Boomer Shooter + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $659 (exactly $659)
Median $6.9k (exactly $6,893)
Top 25% $15k (exactly $14,997)
Top 5% $805k (exactly $804,513)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 32
Announced 40
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $12.99

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 down 90% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Magic
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; all of the top 25% also carry Action, FPS, Shooter
Price point
$12.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Retro, 1990's
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $12.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 4,050 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $660, median $6.9k, 1 in 4 over $14k, 1 in 20 over $800k.

3 in 10 developers made under $660. 7 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 40 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Boomer Shooter with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
AMID EVIL older $19.99 6,654 93% 200k $4.0M (exactly $3,990,404) Indefatigable
Ziggurat 2 older $24.99 1,292 90% 39k $969k (exactly $968,612) Milkstone Studios
Heretic + Hexen $14.99 1,789 95% 54k $805k (exactly $804,513) id Software, Nightdive Studios
Project Warlock II $16.99 1,233 80% 37k $628k (exactly $628,460) Buckshot Software
Wizordum $19.99 880 91% 26k $528k (exactly $527,736) Emberheart Games
PowerSlave Exhumed older $19.99 754 90% 23k $452k (exactly $452,174) Nightdive Studios, Lobotomy Software
AMID EVIL VR older $19.99 262 88% 7.9k $157k (exactly $157,121) Indefatigable, Noah Rayburn, Andre Elij… (Indefatigable, Noah Rayburn, Andre Elijah Immersive)
Herald of Havoc older $16.99 262 96% 7.9k $134k (exactly $133,541) Zeldars Zone
ARKOS older $9.99 179 78% 5.4k $54k (exactly $53,646) RetroSouls
Hands of Necromancy older $4.99 346 86% 10k $52k (exactly $51,796) HON Team
Fantasy Quest $49.99 10 100% 300 $15k (exactly $14,997) Funbang
Seth $12.99 36 77% 1.1k $14k (exactly $14,029) Chaotic Games
ARKOS 2 $12.99 34 91% 1.0k $13k (exactly $13,250) RetroSouls
Tale of the Bullet Knight · EA $15.99 21 95% 630 $10k (exactly $10,074) JAKALWIZARDSTUDIO
VEX MAGE $9.99 23 95% 690 $6.9k (exactly $6,893) Nervous Systems
ETERNAL EXILE: BENEATH THE DARKNESS $15.99 10 60% 300 $4.8k (exactly $4,797) AMNESIA
Runeblight · EA $6.99 14 100% 420 $2.9k (exactly $2,936) Zero Percent Juice

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