Games › Bullet Hell › Bullet Hell + Post-apocalyptic
Should I ship a Post-apocalyptic Bullet Hell?
Bullet Hell + Post-apocalyptic
Of 121 developers who shipped a Post-apocalyptic 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.. 204 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.0k, ×1.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $87k, ×140 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 204 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.0k (exactly $1,015) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $10,789) |
| Top 5% | $88k (exactly $87,715) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 121 |
| Released games | 292 |
| Announced | 204 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 up 25% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- Post-apocalyptic
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 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 $13.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 19,466 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 65 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 204 games are announced against 65 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
NieR:Automata™ 2017 · $138M 
NieR Replicant™ ver.1.22474487139... 2021 · $39M 
Roboquest 2023 · $14M 
Deadzone: Rogue 2025 · $11M 
Nuclear Throne 2015 · $5.4M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | NieR:Automata™ | older | $39.99 | 115,103 88% | 3.5M | $138M (exactly $138,089,069) | Square Enix, PlatinumGames Inc. |
| | NieR Replicant™ ver.1.22474487139... | older | $59.99 | 21,493 88% | 645k | $39M (exactly $38,680,952) | Square Enix, Toylogic Inc. |
| | Roboquest | older | $24.99 | 19,158 95% | 575k | $14M (exactly $14,362,753) | RyseUp Studios |
| | Deadzone: Rogue | $24.99 | 15,041 82% | 451k | $11M (exactly $11,276,238) | Prophecy Games | |
| | Nuclear Throne | older | $11.99 | 15,047 96% | 451k | $5.4M (exactly $5,412,406) | Vlambeer |
 | Dungeon Munchies | older | $19.99 | 6,596 97% | 198k | $4.0M (exactly $3,955,621) | maJAJa |
 | Pistol Whip | older | $29.99 | 3,586 94% | 108k | $3.2M (exactly $3,226,324) | Cloudhead Games Ltd. |
 | Noctuary | older | $29.99 | 2,371 94% | 71k | $2.1M (exactly $2,133,189) | Gratesca |
 | Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost | older | $19.99 | 2,266 81% | 68k | $1.4M (exactly $1,358,920) | Alliance Arts, UnknownX |
 | Angel at Dusk | older | $14.99 | 1,676 98% | 50k | $754k (exactly $753,697) | Akiragoya |
 | FatalZone | $6.99 | 2,125 66% | 64k | $446k (exactly $445,612) | Midhard Games | |
 | RAM: Random Access Mayhem | $14.99 | 611 97% | 18k | $275k (exactly $274,767) | Xylem Studios | |
 | Dark Light: Survivor | · EA | $16.99 | 346 75% | 10k | $176k (exactly $176,356) | Mirari&Co. |
 | Demon Hunt | · EA | $6.99 | 460 77% | 14k | $96k (exactly $96,462) | Massive Hug |
 | BIRDCAGE | $13.99 | 218 97% | 6.5k | $91k (exactly $91,495) | POLYGON BIRD | |
 | UNYIELDER | $24.99 | 117 62% | 3.5k | $88k (exactly $87,715) | TrueWorld Studios | |
 | Odinfall | · EA | $12.99 | 194 82% | 5.8k | $76k (exactly $75,602) | Ember Paw Games |
 | FISH FEAR ME | $9.99 | 214 84% | 6.4k | $64k (exactly $64,136) | HEATHER FLOWERS | |
 | Schism | $11.99 | 140 96% | 4.2k | $50k (exactly $50,358) | Fami |
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.