Do I ship it?

Games › Quick-Time Events › Quick-Time Events + Bullet Hell

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Bullet Hell?

Quick-Time Events + Bullet Hell

Of 27 developers who shipped a Quick-Time Events 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.. 25 more are announced.

Verdict: long shot, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240, ×0.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $10k, ×23 the market median. Revenue is up 435% on the market; 25 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 435% on the market, 25 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Quick-Time Events + Bullet Hell
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.3k → $1.4k → $1.9k → $899 → $120 → $1.9k → $267 (still earning) → $480 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Quick-Time Events + Bullet Hell: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $105 (exactly $105)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 5% $11k (exactly $10,789)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 73
Announced 25
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $3.99

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 435% on the market, supply 185% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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.

Quick-Time Events
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Quick-Time Events, Bullet Hell; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action Roguelike
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 267 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $110, median $240, 1 in 4 over $1.1k, 1 in 20 over $10k.

3 in 10 developers made under $110. All of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Quick-Time Events with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair17 devs · median $15k · 16 announced
  2. + Shoot 'Em UpFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  3. + Life SimFair28 devs · median $958 · 33 announced
  4. + SimulationFair116 devs · median $748 · 133 announced
  5. + CollectathonFair15 devs · median $720 · 18 announced
  6. + Resource ManagementFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced
  7. + FlightFair9 devs · median $657 · 9 announced
  8. + AliensFair12 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  9. + SpaceFair16 devs · median $597 · 24 announced
  10. + Bullet TimeLong shot10 devs · median $390 · 15 announced
  11. + DemonsLong shot17 devs · median $300 · 22 announced
  12. + FMVPoor odds13 devs · median $43k · 7 announced

All 110 pairs on the Quick-Time Events page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Commando Collection 2024 · $212k Return to abyss 重返深渊 2023 · $142k Gripper 2023 · $31k Pet the Cat 2026 · $23k Viro Move 2021 · $17k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Commando Collection older $4.99 1,414 95% 42k $212k (exactly $211,676) Macrojoy
Return to abyss 重返深渊 older $4.99 949 79% 28k $142k (exactly $142,065) Wingjoy Games
Gripper older $19.99 51 84% 1.5k $31k (exactly $30,585) Heart Core
Pet the Cat $4.99 155 83% 4.7k $23k (exactly $23,204) MEWSTURBO
Viro Move older $24.99 23 43% 690 $17k (exactly $17,243) FIT REALITY
Touhou Iyuushou ~ What the Bullet Hell?! $9.99 36 100% 1.1k $11k (exactly $10,789) Cyoltose, 雨夜枫雪制作组 , 雾雨威Channel, 神心飘游堂,… (Cyoltose, 雨夜枫雪制作组 , 雾雨威Channel, 神心飘游堂, 阐幽赜书房)
Agent in Depth older $2.99 108 93% 3.2k $9.7k (exactly $9,688) Naturepixel Studios, SkyBrave
Stardust Defenders older $4.99 29 86% 870 $4.3k (exactly $4,341) Wise Reaper Games
Tower of Doom older $14.99 9 88% 270 $4.0k (exactly $4,047) Finn Lichtenberg
The War Enders: First Strike · EA older $14.99 9 88% 270 $4.0k (exactly $4,047) Crystal Heart's Studio
Rage Room: Catharsis $16.99 6 33% 180 $3.1k (exactly $3,058) Revino Games
KeyFortress · EA $7.99 12 83% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Daisen
Captain Puff MacFly $2.99 23 95% 690 $2.1k (exactly $2,063) MVCAO Studios
QuackSquad $3.99 16 100% 480 $1.9k (exactly $1,915) Boxcutter L.A
SeaQuestDungeon $7.99 5 80% 150 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) AlchemistGame
Thunder Infinity $4.99 8 75% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Enrique G. Galvez
Submarine Survivor $3.99 5 80% 150 $598 (exactly $598) The Bat Flight
Cartel $15.99 1 0% 30 $480 (exactly $480) ren studios

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