Do I ship it?

Games › Bullet Hell › Bullet Hell + Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Twin Stick Shooter Bullet Hell?

Bullet Hell + Twin Stick Shooter

Of 251 developers who shipped a Twin Stick Shooter 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, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.5k, ×3.2 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $190k, ×414 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 349 games are announced against 141 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 349 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Bullet Hell + Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 251
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.5k → $5.0k → $1.8k → $3.6k → $2.9k → $2.2k → $719 (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Bullet Hell + Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 251
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Top 25% $7.2k (exactly $7,193)
Top 5% $197k (exactly $196,677)
Developers, 2 yr 251
Released games 776
Announced 349
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.99

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 70% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Twin Stick Shooter
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, Twin Stick Shooter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelite
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 46,430 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $190k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 119 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 349 games are announced against 141 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

Enter the Gungeon 2016 · $36M Soulstone Survivors 2025 · $12M SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising 2018 · $6.1M Nuclear Throne 2015 · $5.4M Rogue: Genesia 2025 · $3.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Enter the Gungeon older $14.99 79,392 95% 2.4M $36M (exactly $35,702,582) Dodge Roll
Soulstone Survivors $14.99 25,749 91% 772k $12M (exactly $11,579,325) Game Smithing Limited
SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising older $19.99 10,111 94% 303k $6.1M (exactly $6,063,567) Flow Fire Games
Nuclear Throne older $11.99 15,047 96% 451k $5.4M (exactly $5,412,406) Vlambeer
Rogue: Genesia $14.99 8,111 90% 243k $3.6M (exactly $3,647,517) Ouadi Huard
Minishoot' Adventures older $14.99 7,818 97% 235k $3.5M (exactly $3,515,755) SoulGame Studio
Dead Estate older $14.99 5,778 95% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) Milkbar Lads
Killsquad older $29.99 2,839 71% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Novarama
Atomicrops older $14.99 5,134 93% 154k $2.3M (exactly $2,308,760) Bird Bath Games
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef older $19.99 2,586 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) Rogueside
Greedland $12.99 2,919 83% 88k $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534) VaMP He
Temtem: Swarm $12.99 2,487 77% 75k $969k (exactly $969,184) Crema, GGTech Studios
KILL KNIGHT $14.99 1,804 93% 54k $811k (exactly $811,259) PlaySide
Relic Hunters Legend $19.99 1,101 65% 33k $660k (exactly $660,270) Rogue Snail
NIMRODS · EA $9.99 1,783 85% 53k $534k (exactly $534,365) Fiveamp
Sektori $14.99 897 96% 27k $403k (exactly $403,381) Kimmo Lahtinen
Galactic Glitch $12.99 920 89% 28k $359k (exactly $358,524) Crunchy Leaf Games
RIFTSTORM · EA $14.99 659 70% 20k $296k (exactly $296,352) Confiction Labs, Agate

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