Do I ship it?

Games › Bullet Heaven › Bullet Heaven + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Bullet Heaven?

Bullet Heaven + Magic

Of 56 developers who shipped a Magic Bullet Heaven 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.. 98 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×9.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×300 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 98 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 9.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 98 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Bullet Heaven + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 56
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $99k → $44k → $19k → $26k → $6.9k → $3.6k (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Bullet Heaven + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 56
Bottom 30% $628 (exactly $628)
Median $4.3k (exactly $4,341)
Top 25% $25k (exactly $25,158)
Top 5% $142k (exactly $142,358)
Developers, 2 yr 56
Released games 72
Announced 98
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 70% on the market, supply 310% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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.

Bullet Heaven
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Bullet Heaven; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 19,719 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $630, median $4.3k, 1 in 4 over $25k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $630. 5 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 98 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Bullet Heaven with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Online Co-OpStrong odds27 devs · median $9.3k · 38 announced
  2. + Class-BasedFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + CraftingPoor odds20 devs · median $44k · 25 announced
  4. + Dungeon CrawlerPoor odds19 devs · median $32k · 32 announced
  5. + Action RPGPoor odds77 devs · median $25k · 91 announced
  6. + Post-apocalypticPoor odds21 devs · median $17k · 53 announced
  7. + LootPoor odds54 devs · median $14k · 100 announced
  8. + Tower DefensePoor odds29 devs · median $12k · 69 announced
  9. + Twin Stick ShooterPoor odds51 devs · median $11k · 57 announced
  10. + ZombiesPoor odds22 devs · median $11k · 40 announced
  11. + RPGPoor odds120 devs · median $9.3k · 156 announced
  12. + Hack and SlashPoor odds70 devs · median $8.3k · 97 announced

All 48 pairs on the Bullet Heaven page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Spell Brigade 2026 · $5.7M Death Must Die 2023 · EA · $4.4M Necrosmith 2022 · $438k Spell Disk 2024 · $434k Shadow Dungeon 2026 · $416k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Spell Brigade $12.99 14,731 80% 442k $5.7M (exactly $5,740,671) Bolt Blaster Games
Death Must Die · EA older $6.99 20,937 90% 628k $4.4M (exactly $4,390,489) Realm Archive
Necrosmith older $2.99 4,885 85% 147k $438k (exactly $438,185) Alawar
Spell Disk older $14.99 965 89% 29k $434k (exactly $433,960) Sunpeak Games
Shadow Dungeon $9.99 1,387 78% 42k $416k (exactly $415,684) OO Cat
Spirit Hunters: Infinite Horde older $7.99 1,541 78% 46k $369k (exactly $369,378) Creature Cauldron
Trials Survivors · EA $9.99 475 85% 14k $142k (exactly $142,358) Angry wisp
Machick 2 $6.99 606 88% 18k $127k (exactly $127,078) DeadPixel
Seraph's Last Stand older $0.99 4,010 93% 120k $119k (exactly $119,097) Sad Socket
Hand of Fate: Hordes · EA $11.99 312 79% 9.4k $112k (exactly $112,226) Spitfire Interactive
Rhythm Witch: Beat Death $5.99 508 94% 15k $91k (exactly $91,288) Dusklight CO., LTD.
Little Witch Survivors $4.99 543 87% 16k $81k (exactly $81,287) 四月二酱
Neophyte $2.99 660 90% 20k $59k (exactly $59,202) Regal Pigeon
Second Stellar · EA $4.99 334 99% 10k $50k (exactly $50,000) Pepperlog
I'm No Demonlord $8.99 163 84% 4.9k $44k (exactly $43,961) NiaoWu Studio

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