Do I ship it?

Games › Level Editor › Level Editor + Bullet Hell

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Level Editor Bullet Hell?

Level Editor + Bullet Hell

Only 14 developers shipped a Level Editor Bullet Hell 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, Asterika: Phantom Rose Refrain, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $56k, ×90 the market median. Revenue is up 2370% on the market; 24 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 2370% on the market, 24 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Level Editor + Bullet Hell
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $111k → $479 → $419 → $3.1k → $6.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Level Editor + Bullet Hell: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $1.0k (exactly $1,048)
Top 25% $6.6k (exactly $6,597)
Top 5% $57k (exactly $56,662)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 56
Announced 24
Effort 5 / 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 up 2370% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Level Editor
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Bullet Hell
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Level Editor, Bullet Hell
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 317 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.0k, 1 in 4 over $6.5k, 1 in 20 over $56k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Level Editor with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Multiple EndingsFair17 devs · median $8.1k · 23 announced
  2. + Hidden ObjectFair12 devs · median $7.6k · 14 announced
  3. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $3.4k · 17 announced
  4. + Time AttackFair12 devs · median $748 · 14 announced
  5. + IdlerFair19 devs · median $719 · 12 announced
  6. + Score AttackFair51 devs · median $598 · 62 announced
  7. + AutomationLong shot27 devs · median $300 · 32 announced
  8. + TransportationPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 17 announced
  9. + TrainsPoor odds10 devs · median $43k · 11 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds22 devs · median $43k · 46 announced
  11. + City BuilderPoor odds20 devs · median $24k · 50 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds36 devs · median $19k · 111 announced

All 136 pairs on the Level Editor page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Everhood 2021 · $3.4M Pistol Whip 2019 · $3.2M Hunt Down The Freeman 2018 · $1.1M Afterbeat (Project Arrhythmia) 2019 · EA · $1.1M Drunken Robot Pornography 2014 · $220k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Everhood older $9.99 11,436 95% 343k $3.4M (exactly $3,427,369) Chris Nordgren, Jordi Roca
Pistol Whip older $29.99 3,586 94% 108k $3.2M (exactly $3,226,324) Cloudhead Games Ltd.
Hunt Down The Freeman older $9.99 3,785 54% 114k $1.1M (exactly $1,134,364) Royal Rudius Entertainment
Afterbeat (Project Arrhythmia) · EA older $14.99 2,452 95% 74k $1.1M (exactly $1,102,664) Vitamin Games
Drunken Robot Pornography older $14.99 489 83% 15k $220k (exactly $219,903) Dejobaan Games, LLC
Wee Tanks! older $9.99 548 90% 16k $164k (exactly $164,236) Studio Kit
Soundodger+ older $7.99 676 90% 20k $162k (exactly $162,037) Studio Bean
Copy Kitty older $14.99 345 97% 10k $155k (exactly $155,146) Nuclear Strawberry
CounterAttack: Uprising older $14.99 272 90% 8.2k $122k (exactly $122,318) Relative Games
Soundodger 2 older $19.99 185 95% 5.6k $111k (exactly $110,944) Studio Bean
Asterika: Phantom Rose Refrain $14.99 126 95% 3.8k $57k (exactly $56,662) makaroll
Game of Rebirth $12.99 81 69% 2.4k $32k (exactly $31,566) ZodiacStudio
The Shadowed Rune · EA $9.95 41 100% 1.2k $12k (exactly $12,238) Javifugitivo
Hyperstacks $19.99 11 90% 330 $6.6k (exactly $6,597) Squirrel Bytes
Feline Survivor $5.99 17 82% 510 $3.1k (exactly $3,055) 一拳工作室
Randotura $1.99 23 100% 690 $1.4k (exactly $1,373) blinyadebil
MusicHell · EA $4.99 7 100% 210 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) Sindruid
Domain of Hallucination · EA $2.99 7 100% 210 $628 (exactly $628) Livio Cozzio, Marcel Schürch, Carla Wid… (Livio Cozzio, Marcel Schürch, Carla Widmer, Jonas Wiesli, rnaisa)
Tank Fight $7.99 2 100% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Pixel_Gamer, TNT_MAN1111
Euclid's Inferno $6.99 2 100% 60 $419 (exactly $419) Adelpha Studio

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