Games › Bullet Time › Bullet Time + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Bullet Time game?
Bullet Time + Dark Fantasy
Only 19 developers shipped a Dark-Fantasy Bullet Time game 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, KILL KNIGHT, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 31 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $810k, ×1292 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 31 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $4.7k (exactly $4,676) |
| Top 5% | $811k (exactly $811,259) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 19 |
| Released games | 48 |
| Announced | 31 |
| 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 65% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Bullet Time
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
- Dark Fantasy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Bullet Time; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Hack and Slash
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Difficult, First-Person, Stylized
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 3,230 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 6 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 31 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Bullet Time with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + NoirFair
- + LogicFair
- + Boomer ShooterFair
- + LootFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + StrategyFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Quick-Time EventsLong shot
- + On-Rails ShooterLong shot
- + DystopianPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Beat 'em upPoor odds
Comparable games
KILL KNIGHT 2024 · $811k 
Gungrave G.O.R.E 2022 · $669k 
Shady Knight 2024 · $539k 
Kill The Crows 2023 · $426k 
Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister 2022 · $357k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | KILL KNIGHT | $14.99 | 1,804 93% | 54k | $811k (exactly $811,259) | PlaySide | |
| | Gungrave G.O.R.E | older | $29.99 | 744 71% | 22k | $669k (exactly $669,377) | Iggymob Co.,Ltd |
| | Shady Knight | $19.99 | 898 93% | 27k | $539k (exactly $538,531) | Alexey 'cptnsigh' | |
| | Kill The Crows | older | $4.99 | 2,848 95% | 85k | $426k (exactly $426,346) | 5minlab Corp. |
| | Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister | older | $19.99 | 596 70% | 18k | $357k (exactly $357,421) | Soul Assembly Ltd |
 | Iron Danger | older | $19.99 | 544 73% | 16k | $326k (exactly $326,237) | Action Squad Studios |
 | Hellsweeper VR | older | $19.99 | 519 85% | 16k | $311k (exactly $311,244) | Mixed Realms Pte Ltd |
 | Voidborn | $12.99 | 349 81% | 10k | $136k (exactly $136,005) | Xekvera | |
 | Madshot | older | $19.99 | 210 79% | 6.3k | $126k (exactly $125,937) | Overflow |
 | Impaler Gold | older | $4.99 | 466 92% | 14k | $70k (exactly $69,760) | Apptivus |
 | Book Shooter | $6.99 | 107 86% | 3.2k | $22k (exactly $22,438) | SOS GameLab. | |
 | HexWind | $11.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $4.7k (exactly $4,676) | Charm Games | |
 | Agony Increment | $7.99 | 17 100% | 510 | $4.1k (exactly $4,075) | Parish Softworks | |
 | Idle Demon Summoner | $6.00 | 16 62% | 480 | $2.9k (exactly $2,880) | Chrio Games | |
 | Labyrinth Sword Princess | $3.99 | 20 70% | 600 | $2.4k (exactly $2,394) | 黄烁强002 | |
 | BROKEN SOUL : Boss Rush | $12.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) | DoubleJLabs | |
 | Mörker | · EA | $19.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | Hannes Bartels |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.