Games › Bullet Hell › Bullet Hell + Steampunk
Should I ship a Steampunk Bullet Hell?
Bullet Hell + Steampunk
Only 16 developers shipped a Steampunk 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, Airships: Lost Flotilla, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×3.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $78k, ×125 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 30 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) |
| Top 25% | $9.1k (exactly $9,109) |
| Top 5% | $78k (exactly $78,213) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 16 |
| Released games | 44 |
| Announced | 30 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 down 55% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Steampunk
- 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
- Price point
- $6.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 668 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | TEVI | older | $29.99 | 3,580 88% | 107k | $3.2M (exactly $3,220,926) | CreSpirit, GemaYue, Ein Lee |
| | Marfusha:Sentinel Girls | older | $7.99 | 3,116 93% | 93k | $747k (exactly $746,905) | hinyari9 |
| | Swarm Grinder | older | $7.99 | 1,163 76% | 35k | $279k (exactly $278,771) | Last Bite Games |
| | Jamestown | older | $9.99 | 652 94% | 20k | $195k (exactly $195,404) | Final Form Games |
| | Sine Mora EX | older | $9.99 | 463 66% | 14k | $139k (exactly $138,761) | Digital Reality, Grasshopper Manufactur… (Digital Reality, Grasshopper Manufacture, Gyroscope Games) |
| | Airships: Lost Flotilla | $8.99 | 290 92% | 8.7k | $78k (exactly $78,213) | David Stark | |
| | Slyders | $9.99 | 162 85% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $48,551) | Kato Games | |
| | DESTRUCTURE: Among Debris | older | $9.99 | 158 90% | 4.7k | $47k (exactly $47,353) | Team Instant Defeat |
| | Naval Warfare | older | $6.99 | 189 58% | 5.7k | $40k (exactly $39,633) | Game Distillery s.r.o. |
| | Driveloop: Survivors | · EA | $9.99 | 96 76% | 2.9k | $29k (exactly $28,771) | Stunbyte |
| | Hell Survivors | · EA | $7.99 | 38 55% | 1.1k | $9.1k (exactly $9,109) | Aerilon |
| | Luminaria: Dark Echoes | $9.99 | 30 86% | 900 | $9.0k (exactly $8,991) | Enthariel Games | |
| | Vehicle No. 4 | $6.99 | 23 86% | 690 | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) | indiejoh | |
| | Cloudbreaker | $12.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $4.7k (exactly $4,676) | Ballast Games | |
| | Rogue Runner | $5.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) | 42nd Machine | |
| | Ventilate | $10.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $659 (exactly $659) | Inkfox Studios | |
| | The Legend of Cyber Cowboy | $4.99 | 3 33% | 90 | $449 (exactly $449) | Eastasiasoft Limited |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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