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Should I ship a Bullet Hell Strategy game?
Strategy + Bullet Hell
Of 343 developers who shipped a Bullet Hell Strategy game 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.. 345 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $150. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 345 games are announced against 205 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $3.6k (exactly $3,594) |
| Top 5% | $73k (exactly $73,485) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 343 |
| Released games | 736 |
| Announced | 345 |
| 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 down 25% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Strategy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Bullet Hell
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Strategy, Bullet Hell; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Roguelite, Action, Roguelike
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 24,129 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 165 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 345 games are announced against 205 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Strategy with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FMVStrong odds
- + Job SimulatorFair
- + BaseballFair
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + WuxiaFair
- + FarmingFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + SubmarineFair
- + NavalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Shop KeeperFair
- + HackingFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Just Shapes & Beats | older | $19.99 | 24,041 97% | 721k | $14M (exactly $14,417,388) | Berzerk Studio |
| | 20 Minutes Till Dawn | older | $4.99 | 27,872 90% | 836k | $4.2M (exactly $4,172,438) | flanne |
| | Rogue: Genesia | $14.99 | 8,111 90% | 243k | $3.6M (exactly $3,647,517) | Ouadi Huard | |
| | One Step From Eden | older | $19.99 | 6,039 94% | 181k | $3.6M (exactly $3,621,588) | Thomas Moon Kang |
| | Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok | older | $9.99 | 6,180 88% | 185k | $1.9M (exactly $1,852,146) | Noxfall Studios |
| | Pass the Fear | $18.99 | 2,985 79% | 90k | $1.7M (exactly $1,700,554) | PlayMud Studio | |
| | Reassembly | older | $14.99 | 3,611 94% | 108k | $1.6M (exactly $1,623,867) | Anisoptera Games |
| | Apocalypse Party | older | $9.99 | 4,658 72% | 140k | $1.4M (exactly $1,396,003) | Breaker Games |
| | Wanderburg | · EA | $14.99 | 2,103 78% | 63k | $946k (exactly $945,719) | Randwerk |
| | Heretic's Fork | older | $9.99 | 3,097 85% | 93k | $928k (exactly $928,171) | 9FingerGames |
| | Monsters are Coming! | $8.99 | 2,718 79% | 82k | $733k (exactly $733,045) | Ludogram | |
| | GOD FORSAKEN | $13.99 | 1,728 67% | 52k | $725k (exactly $725,242) | insight studio | |
| | ShapeHero Factory | $23.99 | 991 88% | 30k | $713k (exactly $713,223) | Asobism.Co.,Ltd | |
| | Astro Prospector | $4.99 | 3,223 91% | 97k | $482k (exactly $482,483) | Incrementalist | |
| | Asgard's Fall — Viking Survivors | $9.99 | 1,301 79% | 39k | $390k (exactly $389,910) | Soulpotion | |
| | Seer's Gambit | $14.99 | 490 76% | 15k | $220k (exactly $220,353) | Unleash The Giraffe | |
| | Pebble Knights | · EA | $9.99 | 479 76% | 14k | $144k (exactly $143,556) | 51% Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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