Do I ship it?

GamesThird-Person ShooterThird-Person Shooter + Bullet Time

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Bullet Time Third-Person Shooter?

Third-Person Shooter + Bullet Time

Of 24 developers who shipped a Bullet Time Third-Person Shooter 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.. 54 more are announced, ×6.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 54 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 per shipper, while revenue is down 80% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 54 announced, ×6.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Third-Person Shooter + Bullet Time
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0k → $832 → $8.1k → $11k → $987 → $299 → $150 (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Third-Person Shooter + Bullet Time: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $20k (exactly $19,790)
Top 5% $1.0M (exactly $1,021,718)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 95
Announced 54
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 80% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Third-Person Shooter
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Bullet Time
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Third-Person Shooter, Bullet Time; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Shooter, Action, Action-Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cinematic, Fast-Paced
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 8,328 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $900, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $1.0M.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 7 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Third-Person Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RhythmStrong odds6 devs · median $3.3k · 6 announced
  2. + WesternFair15 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  3. + CollectathonLong shot19 devs · median $599 · 20 announced
  4. + Time ManagementLong shot15 devs · median $538 · 12 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorLong shot27 devs · median $479 · 27 announced
  6. + Class-BasedPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  7. + Creature CollectorPoor odds12 devs · median $13k · 15 announced
  8. + DinosaursPoor odds8 devs · median $9.0k · 14 announced
  9. + MechsPoor odds38 devs · median $7.2k · 63 announced
  10. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds12 devs · median $6.9k · 70 announced
  11. + Level EditorPoor odds10 devs · median $6.9k · 14 announced
  12. + CraftingPoor odds65 devs · median $5.1k · 156 announced

All 163 pairs on the Third-Person Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Max Payne 3 older $19.99 55,150 86% 1.7M $33M (exactly $33,073,455) Rockstar Studios
Quantum Break older $39.99 23,141 86% 694k $28M (exactly $27,762,258) Remedy Entertainment
Vanquish older $19.99 6,974 89% 209k $4.2M (exactly $4,182,308) PlatinumGames, Little Stone Software
Max Payne older $9.99 12,773 88% 383k $3.8M (exactly $3,828,068) Remedy Entertainment
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne older $9.99 12,102 93% 363k $3.6M (exactly $3,626,969) Remedy Entertainment
Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army older $14.99 3,557 88% 107k $1.6M (exactly $1,599,583) Rebellion
Suit for Hire $14.99 3,263 92% 98k $1.5M (exactly $1,467,371) Godmode Interactive
Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2 older $14.99 3,020 84% 91k $1.4M (exactly $1,358,094) ·
GUN™ older $19.99 2,102 91% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,260,569) Neversoft
Wanted: Dead older $29.99 1,373 67% 41k $1.2M (exactly $1,235,288) Soleil Ltd.
Killer Bean · EA $14.99 2,272 73% 68k $1.0M (exactly $1,021,718) Killer Bean Studios LLC
Grandpa High on Retro $7.99 2,068 88% 62k $496k (exactly $495,700) Ashnell Games
Gun Frog $4.99 433 94% 13k $65k (exactly $64,820) Zoteling
Book Shooter $6.99 107 86% 3.2k $22k (exactly $22,438) SOS GameLab.
Source Code $19.99 33 60% 990 $20k (exactly $19,790) Blitzball.Inc
KUNKUN League $2.99 123 98% 3.7k $11k (exactly $11,033) Seal
CYBER92 DATAWAR $9.92 14 50% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,166) Cyber92 Solo Developer
Cyborg City $12.99 9 100% 270 $3.5k (exactly $3,507) Cyborg Dreams
Golfslinger $7.99 6 100% 180 $1.4k (exactly $1,438) Chaos Cactus

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