Do I ship it?

Games › Bullet Heaven › Bullet Heaven + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Bullet Heaven?

Bullet Heaven + Zombies

Of 22 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 40 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $11k, ×17 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×2044 the market median. Revenue is down 95% on the market; 40 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 17.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 40 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Bullet Heaven + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 22
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $315k → $16k → $3.6k (still earning) → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Bullet Heaven + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 22
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $11k (exactly $10,778)
Top 25% $91k (exactly $91,288)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894)
Developers, 2 yr 22
Released games 33
Announced 40
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $7.99

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 95% on the market, supply 350% 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
Zombies
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; all of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 23,336 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $11k, 1 in 4 over $91k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 40 games are announced against 18 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. + RPGPoor odds120 devs · median $9.3k · 156 announced
  11. + Hack and SlashPoor odds70 devs · median $8.3k · 97 announced
  12. + Dark FantasyPoor odds68 devs · median $4.8k · 97 announced

All 48 pairs on the Bullet Heaven page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Yet Another Zombie Survivors 2026 · $6.4M Deadly Days: Roadtrip 2025 · EA · $1.3M R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program 2026 · $1.2M Be My Horde 2024 · EA · $615k FatalZone 2024 · $446k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Yet Another Zombie Survivors $14.99 14,123 91% 424k $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) Awesome Games Studio
Deadly Days: Roadtrip · EA $14.99 2,855 87% 86k $1.3M (exactly $1,283,894) Pixelsplit
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program $14.99 2,727 76% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) WarmCore Studio
Be My Horde · EA older $9.99 2,052 85% 62k $615k (exactly $614,984) Polished Games
FatalZone $6.99 2,125 66% 64k $446k (exactly $445,612) Midhard Games
Necrosmith older $2.99 4,885 85% 147k $438k (exactly $438,185) Alawar
Scarlet Tower older $6.99 1,831 81% 55k $384k (exactly $383,961) Pyxeralia LLC
Necrosmith 2 older $7.99 1,315 77% 39k $315k (exactly $315,206) Alawar
Dark Light: Survivor · EA $16.99 346 75% 10k $176k (exactly $176,356) Mirari&Co.
Rhythm Witch: Beat Death $5.99 508 94% 15k $91k (exactly $91,288) Dusklight CO., LTD.
Soulforge Lost Path $8.99 302 69% 9.1k $81k (exactly $81,449) Ziyue
Raining Blood: Hellfire $7.99 198 89% 5.9k $47k (exactly $47,461) TechBooh
SCAD · EA $7.99 86 76% 2.6k $21k (exactly $20,614) NAISU
Last Outpost $7.99 66 72% 2.0k $16k (exactly $15,820) Troyd Games

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