Do I ship it?

Games › Bullet Time › Bullet Time + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Bullet Time game?

Bullet Time + Magic

Of 23 developers who shipped a Magic Bullet Time 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.. 38 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $990, ×1.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $16k, ×26 the market median. Revenue is up 95% on the market; 38 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 95% on the market, 38 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Bullet Time + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $987 → $2.4k → $449 (still earning) → $2.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Bullet Time + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $987 (exactly $987)
Top 25% $3.6k (exactly $3,599)
Top 5% $16k (exactly $16,300)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 53
Announced 38
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 95% on the market, supply 55% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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 Time
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Magic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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 Time; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Top-Down, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 398 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $990, 1 in 4 over $3.5k, 1 in 20 over $16k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + NoirFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 12 announced
  2. + LogicFair9 devs · median $1.8k · 7 announced
  3. + Boomer ShooterFair30 devs · median $1.7k · 30 announced
  4. + LootFair15 devs · median $836 · 21 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair13 devs · median $718 · 8 announced
  6. + StrategyFair60 devs · median $599 · 59 announced
  7. + Tower DefenseFair20 devs · median $597 · 20 announced
  8. + Quick-Time EventsLong shot10 devs · median $390 · 15 announced
  9. + On-Rails ShooterLong shot8 devs · median $359 · 8 announced
  10. + DystopianPoor odds13 devs · median $44k · 39 announced
  11. + Co-opPoor odds13 devs · median $5.4k · 30 announced
  12. + Beat 'em upPoor odds11 devs · median $4.7k · 19 announced

All 95 pairs on the Bullet Time page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Iron Danger 2020 · $326k Hellsweeper VR 2023 · $311k Dredgers 2019 · $169k 异变战区 E.E.R.I.E 2021 · $92k Time Lock VR 2 2022 · $66k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
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
Dredgers older $11.99 471 88% 14k $169k (exactly $169,419) Pirate-Rob
异变战区 E.E.R.I.E older $6.99 441 79% 13k $92k (exactly $92,478) Ureasoft
Time Lock VR 2 older $12.99 170 88% 5.1k $66k (exactly $66,249) WR-VRG
Avium older $29.99 26 76% 780 $23k (exactly $23,392) The Robot
Book Shooter $6.99 107 86% 3.2k $22k (exactly $22,438) SOS GameLab.
Meta Card Backpack Legend $7.99 68 97% 2.0k $16k (exactly $16,300) KY Games
Claws of Soria: Escape the Succubus Night $12.99 25 64% 750 $9.7k (exactly $9,742) Byakko MeiMei
Nekomancer of Nowhere $6.99 42 97% 1.3k $8.8k (exactly $8,807) Standing Cat
HexWind $11.99 13 100% 390 $4.7k (exactly $4,676) Charm Games
AI Games $59.99 2 50% 60 $3.6k (exactly $3,599) SUNYU Games
Idle Demon Summoner $6.00 16 62% 480 $2.9k (exactly $2,880) Chrio Games
Mutagenic $0.99 94 93% 2.8k $2.8k (exactly $2,792) Mutagenic Studios Ltd
Labyrinth Sword Princess $3.99 20 70% 600 $2.4k (exactly $2,394) 黄烁强002
Farmsville · EA $3.99 11 100% 330 $1.3k (exactly $1,317) Farmsville Prod.

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