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Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Bullet Hell?
Local Multiplayer + Bullet Hell
Of 72 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer 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.. 74 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $69k, ×147 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 74 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $11,301) |
| Top 5% | $70k (exactly $69,722) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 72 |
| Released games | 285 |
| Announced | 74 |
| Effort | 4 / 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 90% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Local Multiplayer
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Bullet Hell
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Local Multiplayer, Bullet Hell; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Co-Op, Co-op
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 2,390 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Local Multiplayer with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + HockeyStrong odds
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Action RPGFair
- + Hex GridFair
- + ModernFair
- + WargameFair
- + TennisFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + Football (American)Fair
- + SportsFair
- + RunnerFair
Comparable games
Just Shapes & Beats 2018 · $14M 
Nuclear Throne 2015 · $5.4M 
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef 2022 · $1.6M 
Full Metal Furies 2018 · $1.3M 
Afterbeat (Project Arrhythmia) 2019 · EA · $1.1M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Just Shapes & Beats | older | $19.99 | 24,041 97% | 721k | $14M (exactly $14,417,388) | Berzerk Studio |
| | Nuclear Throne | older | $11.99 | 15,047 96% | 451k | $5.4M (exactly $5,412,406) | Vlambeer |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef | older | $19.99 | 2,586 87% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) | Rogueside |
| | Full Metal Furies | older | $19.99 | 2,108 91% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,264,168) | Cellar Door Games |
| | Afterbeat (Project Arrhythmia) | · EA older | $14.99 | 2,452 95% | 74k | $1.1M (exactly $1,102,664) | Vitamin Games |
 | DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours | older | $49.99 | 717 82% | 22k | $1.1M (exactly $1,075,285) | Pyramid |
 | Patch Quest | older | $14.99 | 2,058 94% | 62k | $925k (exactly $925,483) | Lychee Game Labs |
 | DoDonPachi Resurrection | older | $29.99 | 982 95% | 29k | $884k (exactly $883,505) | CAVE Interactive CO.,LTD. |
 | Sky Force Reloaded | older | $9.99 | 2,687 92% | 81k | $805k (exactly $805,294) | Infinite Dreams |
 | Assault Android Cactus+ | older | $19.99 | 1,325 94% | 40k | $795k (exactly $794,602) | Witch Beam |
 | Platypus Reclayed | $14.99 | 641 99% | 19k | $288k (exactly $288,258) | Claymatic Games | |
 | Bang Bang Barrage | $7.99 | 757 95% | 23k | $181k (exactly $181,453) | Monkey Bread | |
 | Shape Shifter: Formations | $14.99 | 269 91% | 8.1k | $121k (exactly $120,969) | Castec Studios | |
 | Truxton Extreme | $24.99 | 93 95% | 2.8k | $70k (exactly $69,722) | Tatsujin | |
 | UNDER DEFEAT | $19.99 | 81 95% | 2.4k | $49k (exactly $48,576) | CITY CONNECTION, TAKE×0FF | |
 | MeowGun: Hell Denizen | $12.99 | 114 98% | 3.4k | $44k (exactly $44,426) | SusaDeBastet | |
 | I'm No Demonlord | $8.99 | 163 84% | 4.9k | $44k (exactly $43,961) | NiaoWu Studio | |
 | Flying Tank | $14.99 | 97 86% | 2.9k | $44k (exactly $43,621) | Hexage | |
 | Asterogues | $14.99 | 83 90% | 2.5k | $37k (exactly $37,325) | pipotchi600 | |
 | Rogue Fist | $8.99 | 92 89% | 2.8k | $25k (exactly $24,812) | Wetcoat Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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