Do I ship it?

GamesBullet HellBullet Hell + Vampires

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Vampire Bullet Hell?

Bullet Hell + Vampires

Of 43 developers who shipped a Vampire 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.. 33 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.4k, ×5.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $900. Revenue is up 175% on the market; 33 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 175% on the market, 33 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Bullet Hell + Vampires
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.9k → $2.2k → $6.9k → $19k → $1.2k → $4.2k → $1.7k (still earning) → $105k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Bullet Hell + Vampires: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $898 (exactly $898)
Median $3.4k (exactly $3,443)
Top 25% $40k (exactly $39,521)
Top 5% $390k (exactly $389,910)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 94
Announced 33
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 up 175% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Bullet Hell
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Vampires
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Bullet Hell; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 10,256 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $3.4k, 1 in 4 over $39k, 1 in 20 over $380k.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 22 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Bullet Hell with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SuperheroStrong odds11 devs · median $3.4k · 7 announced
  2. + FaithFair26 devs · median $17k · 29 announced
  3. + Creature CollectorFair24 devs · median $3.4k · 33 announced
  4. + Strategy RPGFair40 devs · median $2.0k · 31 announced
  5. + PiratesFair14 devs · median $2.0k · 20 announced
  6. + CatsFair44 devs · median $1.7k · 59 announced
  7. + HackingFair15 devs · median $1.6k · 17 announced
  8. + Time ManagementFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 15 announced
  9. + Card BattlerFair24 devs · median $1.2k · 22 announced
  10. + DemonsFair101 devs · median $1.2k · 125 announced
  11. + Naval CombatFair14 devs · median $1.1k · 16 announced
  12. + Mystery DungeonFair14 devs · median $1.0k · 18 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
Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic - the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil $17.99 3,740 98% 112k $2.0M (exactly $2,018,478) 上海アリス幻樂団, 上海アリスReprise
Apocalypse Party older $9.99 4,658 72% 140k $1.4M (exactly $1,396,003) Breaker Games
Boneraiser Minions older $4.99 4,967 96% 149k $744k (exactly $743,560) caiys
Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity older $14.99 1,219 91% 37k $548k (exactly $548,184) Ankake Spa
Necrosmith older $2.99 4,885 85% 147k $438k (exactly $438,185) Alawar
Rocket Rats $5.99 2,388 94% 72k $429k (exactly $429,124) Gagonfe
Asgard's Fall — Viking Survivors $9.99 1,301 79% 39k $390k (exactly $389,910) Soulpotion
Scarlet Tower older $6.99 1,831 81% 55k $384k (exactly $383,961) Pyxeralia LLC
Night Swarm $9.99 1,142 78% 34k $342k (exactly $342,257) Fubu Games
Touhou ~Red Empress Devil. $8.99 438 70% 13k $118k (exactly $118,129) STUDIO POCO
Internet Survivor Survivors $14.99 234 75% 7.0k $105k (exactly $105,230) ビートまりお / COOL&CREATE
Hordes of Hunger $14.99 230 72% 6.9k $103k (exactly $103,431) Hyperstrange
Touhou Koumakyou: Classic - the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil $17.99 188 98% 5.6k $101k (exactly $101,464) 上海アリス幻樂団, 上海アリスReprise
Iron Core: Mech Survivor $6.99 352 73% 11k $74k (exactly $73,814) Soda Game Studio
Struggle F.O $8.80 243 67% 7.3k $64k (exactly $64,152) Espada Inc.

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