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Should I ship a Demon Bullet Hell?
Bullet Hell + Demons
Of 101 developers who shipped a Demon Bullet Hell 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.. 125 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $270. Revenue is flat on the market; 125 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,197) |
| Top 25% | $7.6k (exactly $7,645) |
| Top 5% | $124k (exactly $123,668) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 101 |
| Released games | 234 |
| Announced | 125 |
| 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 flat on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Bullet Hell
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Demons
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Bullet Hell; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelite
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Dark
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 93% positive over 37,788 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 125 games are announced against 63 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Bullet Hell with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + SuperheroStrong odds
- + FaithFair
- + VampiresFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + PiratesFair
- + CatsFair
- + HackingFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + Naval CombatFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
Comparable games
Halls of Torment 2024 · $6.1M 
Dead Estate 2021 · $2.6M 
Devil Daggers 2016 · $2.2M 
Project Warlock 2018 · $1.7M 
HYPER DEMON 2022 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Halls of Torment | $6.66 | 30,752 95% | 923k | $6.1M (exactly $6,144,250) | Chasing Carrots | |
| | Dead Estate | older | $14.99 | 5,778 95% | 173k | $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) | Milkbar Lads |
| | Devil Daggers | older | $9.99 | 7,442 96% | 223k | $2.2M (exactly $2,230,367) | Sorath |
| | Project Warlock | older | $12.00 | 4,691 87% | 141k | $1.7M (exactly $1,688,760) | Buckshot Software |
| | HYPER DEMON | older | $14.99 | 3,087 94% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,388,224) | Sorath |
 | Heretic's Fork | older | $9.99 | 3,097 85% | 93k | $928k (exactly $928,171) | 9FingerGames |
 | Luna Abyss | $29.99 | 923 86% | 28k | $830k (exactly $830,423) | Kwalee Labs | |
 | KILL KNIGHT | $14.99 | 1,804 93% | 54k | $811k (exactly $811,259) | PlaySide | |
 | Bloodshed | $12.99 | 1,824 84% | 55k | $711k (exactly $710,813) | com8com1 Software | |
 | The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia | older | $14.99 | 1,165 85% | 35k | $524k (exactly $523,900) | Morbidware |
 | Grind Survivors | $12.99 | 1,332 69% | 40k | $519k (exactly $519,080) | Pushka Studios | |
 | HELLBREAK | $14.99 | 275 76% | 8.3k | $124k (exactly $123,668) | Double Barrel Games | |
 | Demon Hunt | · EA | $6.99 | 460 77% | 14k | $96k (exactly $96,462) | Massive Hug |
 | DaemonBride:ADDITIONAL GAIN | $19.99 | 94 82% | 2.8k | $56k (exactly $56,372) | Team Arcana, Kizawaya | |
 | Slyders | $9.99 | 162 85% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $48,551) | Kato Games | |
 | Flock of the Seraphim | $9.99 | 162 85% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $48,551) | GuuchanDev |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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