Do I ship it?

GamesBullet HellBullet Hell + Roguelike Deckbuilder

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelike Deckbuilder Bullet Hell?

Bullet Hell + Roguelike Deckbuilder

Only 19 developers shipped a Roguelike Deckbuilder 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, SealChain: Call of Blood, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 25 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.0k, ×6.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×305 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 25 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 25 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Bullet Hell + Roguelike Deckbuilder
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 19
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $89 → $44k → $21k → $3.3k → $2.2k → $1.5k (still earning) → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Bullet Hell + Roguelike Deckbuilder: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 19
Bottom 30% $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Median $3.0k (exactly $2,994)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $11,252)
Top 5% $145k (exactly $144,829)
Developers, 2 yr 19
Released games 32
Announced 25
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.00

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 35% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Bullet Hell
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Roguelike Deckbuilder
effort 3 / 10 · high · deckbuilding rules plus procedural runs

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Bullet Hell, Roguelike Deckbuilder; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelike, Action, Deckbuilding
Price point
$5.00 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.00.

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 1,199 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $3.0k, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $140k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Bullet Hell with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SuperheroStrong odds11 devs · median $3.4k · 7 announced
  2. + FaithFair26 devs · median $17k · 29 announced
  3. + VampiresFair43 devs · median $3.4k · 33 announced
  4. + Creature CollectorFair24 devs · median $3.4k · 33 announced
  5. + Strategy RPGFair40 devs · median $2.0k · 31 announced
  6. + PiratesFair14 devs · median $2.0k · 20 announced
  7. + CatsFair44 devs · median $1.7k · 59 announced
  8. + HackingFair15 devs · median $1.6k · 17 announced
  9. + Time ManagementFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair24 devs · median $1.2k · 22 announced
  11. + DemonsFair101 devs · median $1.2k · 125 announced
  12. + Naval CombatFair14 devs · median $1.1k · 16 announced

All 185 pairs on the Bullet Hell page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Heretic's Fork older $9.99 3,097 85% 93k $928k (exactly $928,171) 9FingerGames
SealChain: Call of Blood $8.99 537 56% 16k $145k (exactly $144,829) AliveGameStudio
Seraph's Last Stand older $0.99 4,010 93% 120k $119k (exactly $119,097) Sad Socket
Godslayer Arena · EA $14.99 257 76% 7.7k $116k (exactly $115,573) Hippo Rider Games
Towerful Defense: A Rogue TD older $9.99 209 70% 6.3k $63k (exactly $62,637) Mini Fun Games
Hero of Fate older $2.99 495 78% 15k $44k (exactly $44,402) Planescape Game Studio
Bees vs Zombees $7.99 89 92% 2.7k $21k (exactly $21,333) DeadPixel
Moon Watch · EA $9.99 56 57% 1.7k $17k (exactly $16,783) Jaspel
outpost4 $3.99 94 72% 2.8k $11k (exactly $11,252) BananaDogGames
Neon Ascending $3.99 90 82% 2.7k $11k (exactly $10,773) TheCarmineDepth
Rogue Citadel $9.99 15 86% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) MalumGames
Hex Blast $4.99 30 100% 900 $4.5k (exactly $4,491) Soy Boy Games
LYMBUS $9.99 11 90% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Happy Accident Studios
Dice Gun Commando $4.99 20 100% 600 $3.0k (exactly $2,994) Loonicy Entertainment

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