Do I ship it?

Games › Bullet Heaven › Bullet Heaven + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Bullet Heaven?

Bullet Heaven + Space

Of 42 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 90 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.0 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×232 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 90 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 90 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Bullet Heaven + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $166k → $49k → $9.4k → $74k → $675 (still earning) → $1.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Bullet Heaven + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 25% $9.4k (exactly $9,352)
Top 5% $146k (exactly $145,954)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 59
Announced 90
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.00

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 95% on the market, supply 220% more developers than the period before.

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
Space
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Bullet Heaven; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Arcade
Price point
$5.00 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $5.00.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 48,772 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $9.3k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 6 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 90 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor 2025 · $18M Picayune Dreams 2023 · $623k Reality Break 2025 · $512k Wings of Seduction: Bust 'em out! 2024 · $352k Paper Planet 2023 · $171k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor $12.99 46,354 86% 1.4M $18M (exactly $18,064,154) Funday Games
Picayune Dreams older $4.99 4,164 98% 125k $623k (exactly $623,351) Stepford, Andyland, milkypossum
Reality Break $24.99 683 80% 20k $512k (exactly $512,045) Element Games, LLC
Wings of Seduction: Bust 'em out! older $12.99 904 93% 27k $352k (exactly $352,289) Ramen Cat Studio
Paper Planet older $14.99 381 89% 11k $171k (exactly $171,336) Doodlegames
Survivors of the Dawn · EA older $7.99 694 73% 21k $166k (exactly $166,352) indieGiant
Entropy Survivors $9.99 487 80% 15k $146k (exactly $145,954) Moving Pieces Interactive
Syder Arcade older $9.99 451 84% 14k $135k (exactly $135,165) Studio Evil
Rock Crusher $6.99 352 84% 11k $74k (exactly $73,814) Mini Fun Games
Gunlocked older $4.99 463 87% 14k $69k (exactly $69,311) FromLefcourt
Mythical Concept STARNAUT $29.99 67 92% 2.0k $60k (exactly $60,280) crim Co., Ltd.
Second Stellar · EA $4.99 334 99% 10k $50k (exactly $50,000) Pepperlog
HSS:Reload $8.99 181 71% 5.4k $49k (exactly $48,816) SmokingBear Studio
Starforged Legacy · EA $7.99 173 87% 5.2k $41k (exactly $41,468) Second Shift Games
Arcadium - Space Odyssey $7.99 110 93% 3.3k $26k (exactly $26,367) Luciano Bercini
Sublight · EA $11.99 31 93% 930 $11k (exactly $11,151) CODEBREW SOFTWARE LTD

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