Do I ship it?

GamesBullet HellBullet Hell + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack Bullet Hell?

Bullet Hell + Score Attack

Of 361 developers who shipped a Score Attack 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.. 349 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×703 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 349 games are announced against 224 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 349 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Bullet Hell + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 361
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $2.3k → $1.2k → $1.5k → $419 → $1.0k → $599 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Bullet Hell + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 361
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $629 (exactly $629)
Top 25% $4.1k (exactly $4,075)
Top 5% $334k (exactly $333,866)
Developers, 2 yr 361
Released games 983
Announced 349
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 down 35% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Score Attack
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Bullet Hell, Score Attack; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Action Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 212,798 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $630, 1 in 4 over $4.0k, 1 in 20 over $330k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 152 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 349 games are announced against 224 developers who shipped in the last year.

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
Vampire Survivors older $4.99 251,686 98% 7.6M $38M (exactly $37,677,394) poncle
Megabonk $9.99 100,202 94% 3.0M $30M (exactly $30,030,539) vedinad
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor $12.99 46,354 86% 1.4M $18M (exactly $18,064,154) Funday Games
Soulstone Survivors $14.99 25,749 91% 772k $12M (exactly $11,579,325) Game Smithing Limited
Yet Another Zombie Survivors $14.99 14,123 91% 424k $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) Awesome Games Studio
The Spell Brigade $12.99 14,731 80% 442k $5.7M (exactly $5,740,671) Bolt Blaster Games
20 Minutes Till Dawn older $4.99 27,872 90% 836k $4.2M (exactly $4,172,438) flanne
HYPER DEMON older $14.99 3,087 94% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,388,224) Sorath
Greedland $12.99 2,919 83% 88k $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534) VaMP He
DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours older $49.99 717 82% 22k $1.1M (exactly $1,075,285) Pyramid
Temtem: Swarm $12.99 2,487 77% 75k $969k (exactly $969,184) Crema, GGTech Studios
Vampire Hunters $14.99 1,941 89% 58k $873k (exactly $872,868) Gamecraft Studios
KILL KNIGHT $14.99 1,804 93% 54k $811k (exactly $811,259) PlaySide
Glyphica: Typing Survival · EA $9.99 2,488 90% 75k $746k (exactly $745,654) aliasBLACK

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