Games › Bullet Hell › Bullet Hell + Lovecraftian
Should I ship a Lovecraftian Bullet Hell?
Bullet Hell + Lovecraftian
Of 24 developers who shipped a Lovecraftian 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.. 36 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×6.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $960; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×305 the market median. Revenue is up 50% on the market; 36 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $959 (exactly $959) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.0k (exactly $2,994) |
| Top 25% | $28k (exactly $27,881) |
| Top 5% | $145k (exactly $144,829) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 69 |
| Announced | 36 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 50% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- Lovecraftian
- 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; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, RPG
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 90% positive over 16,530 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $960. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.
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
- + DemonsFair
- + Naval CombatFair
Comparable games
Returnal™ 2023 · $12M 
Magicraft 2024 · $7.2M 
20 Minutes Till Dawn 2023 · $4.2M 
Devil Daggers 2016 · $2.2M 
HYPER DEMON 2022 · $1.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Returnal™ | older | $59.99 | 6,602 79% | 198k | $12M (exactly $11,881,619) | Housemarque, Climax Studios |
| | Magicraft | $15.99 | 15,051 92% | 452k | $7.2M (exactly $7,219,965) | Wave Games | |
| | 20 Minutes Till Dawn | older | $4.99 | 27,872 90% | 836k | $4.2M (exactly $4,172,438) | flanne |
| | Devil Daggers | older | $9.99 | 7,442 96% | 223k | $2.2M (exactly $2,230,367) | Sorath |
| | HYPER DEMON | older | $14.99 | 3,087 94% | 93k | $1.4M (exactly $1,388,224) | Sorath |
 | Disney•Pixar Cars 2: The Video Game | older | $19.99 | 970 79% | 29k | $582k (exactly $581,709) | Avalanche Software |
 | QUICKERFLAK | older | $4.99 | 2,819 87% | 85k | $422k (exactly $422,004) | Walter Machado |
 | SealChain: Call of Blood | $8.99 | 537 56% | 16k | $145k (exactly $144,829) | AliveGameStudio | |
 | Madshot | older | $19.99 | 210 79% | 6.3k | $126k (exactly $125,937) | Overflow |
 | Sea of Survivors | · EA older | $6.99 | 415 81% | 12k | $87k (exactly $87,026) | Nah Yeah Games |
 | Dark Fairy Tale: Dreamland Survivors | $4.99 | 479 90% | 14k | $72k (exactly $71,706) | BINGOBELL | |
 | SHRIMP GAME: OVERKRILL | $11.99 | 93 89% | 2.8k | $33k (exactly $33,452) | GasGod Games, GLUE MAN | |
 | Game of Rebirth | $12.99 | 81 69% | 2.4k | $32k (exactly $31,566) | ZodiacStudio | |
 | Nullpoint Protocol | $14.99 | 62 61% | 1.9k | $28k (exactly $27,881) | Everbloom Games | |
 | Relic Abyss | · EA | $8.99 | 94 80% | 2.8k | $25k (exactly $25,352) | Reverse Loop |
 | Project Tower | $9.99 | 76 75% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $22,777) | Yummy Games | |
 | Cosmic Call | $9.99 | 30 96% | 900 | $9.0k (exactly $8,991) | CosmicDev | |
 | It Consumes | $9.99 | 27 100% | 810 | $8.1k (exactly $8,092) | Sublexical |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.