Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Capitalism
Should I ship a Capitalist Shoot 'Em Up?
Shoot 'Em Up + Capitalism
Only 13 developers shipped a Capitalist Shoot 'Em Up 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, BLACKWOOD, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 11 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×3.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×892 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 11 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.6k (exactly $1,575) |
| Top 25% | $9.0k (exactly $8,997) |
| Top 5% | $424k (exactly $423,580) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 31 |
| Announced | 11 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 50% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 19%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Shoot 'Em Up
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Capitalism
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Shoot 'Em Up; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Bullet Hell
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Retro, 2D, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 60% positive over 792 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. All of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 11 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Shoot 'Em Up with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FaithFair
- + RomanceFair
- + VampiresFair
- + Quick-Time EventsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Resource ManagementFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + SwordplayLong shot
- + MusicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
Comparable games
BLACKWOOD 2026 · $424k 
Vostok Inc. 2017 · $43k 
Disaster Arms - Impact Project B.A.H.N. 2025 · $17k 
BloodDome99 2024 · $12k 
PARA♰BELLUM ~ 魔弹帕菈 2024 · $10k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | BLACKWOOD | $24.99 | 565 46% | 17k | $424k (exactly $423,580) | AttritoM7 Productions | |
| | Vostok Inc. | older | $14.99 | 96 60% | 2.9k | $43k (exactly $43,171) | Nosebleed Interactive |
| | Disaster Arms - Impact Project B.A.H.N. | $9.99 | 57 100% | 1.7k | $17k (exactly $17,083) | PD_CGT | |
| | BloodDome99 | $4.99 | 79 94% | 2.4k | $12k (exactly $11,826) | Halftone Gaming | |
| | PARA♰BELLUM ~ 魔弹帕菈 | older | $2.99 | 117 95% | 3.5k | $10k (exactly $10,495) | ChronoYuki |
 | PIZZA WESTERN 🍕 | $29.99 | 10 90% | 300 | $9.0k (exactly $8,997) | Lola Fisher | |
 | GutBuster | $4.99 | 38 100% | 1.1k | $5.7k (exactly $5,689) | RoyalJellySoftware | |
 | Push & Plunder | $9.99 | 13 84% | 390 | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) | Skylor Beck | |
 | Fascist | $2.50 | 21 90% | 630 | $1.6k (exactly $1,575) | The Lonely Game Dev | |
 | Raincouver | older | $3.99 | 13 61% | 390 | $1.6k (exactly $1,556) | PalfreyGames |
 | Doomsday Tower Defense | $15.99 | 3 33% | 90 | $1.4k (exactly $1,439) | Urban Isotope | |
 | Don't Forget to Smile | $5.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $898 (exactly $898) | Existerror Digital | |
 | Taco Terror | $9.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $300 (exactly $300) | SimpleShutIn Productions |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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