Do I ship it?

Games › Choices Matter › Choices Matter + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Choices Matter Shoot 'Em Up?

Choices Matter + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 55 developers who shipped a Choices Matter Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 78 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180. 78 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper, while revenue is down 85% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 78 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Choices Matter + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 55
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $1.8k → $360 → $450 → $15k → $299 → $179 (still earning) → $240 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Choices Matter + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 55
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,118)
Top 5% $291k (exactly $290,854)
Developers, 2 yr 55
Released games 174
Announced 78
Effort 4 / 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 85% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Choices Matter
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Choices Matter, Shoot 'Em Up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 3,370 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $300, 1 in 4 over $3.1k, 1 in 20 over $290k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 78 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Choices Matter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FMVStrong odds108 devs · median $58k · 91 announced
  2. + Escape RoomFair18 devs · median $4.7k · 15 announced
  3. + SportsFair120 devs · median $2.4k · 150 announced
  4. + RhythmFair36 devs · median $2.4k · 35 announced
  5. + Hidden ObjectFair261 devs · median $802 · 273 announced
  6. + TriviaFair26 devs · median $599 · 30 announced
  7. + Board GameFair119 devs · median $479 · 150 announced
  8. + RacingFair51 devs · median $449 · 54 announced
  9. + ChessFair19 devs · median $419 · 20 announced
  10. + Real-Time with PausePoor odds9 devs · median $215k · 23 announced
  11. + RomePoor odds10 devs · median $160k · 19 announced
  12. + World War IPoor odds10 devs · median $57k · 19 announced

All 243 pairs on the Choices Matter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

CRUEL 2025 · $544k Reality Break 2025 · $512k The Knight Witch 2022 · $386k Goobies 2023 · $335k Whisker Squadron: Survivor 2025 · $291k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
CRUEL $9.99 1,814 95% 54k $544k (exactly $543,656) James Dornan
Reality Break $24.99 683 80% 20k $512k (exactly $512,045) Element Games, LLC
The Knight Witch older $19.99 643 72% 19k $386k (exactly $385,607) Super Mega Team
Goobies older $5.99 1,866 90% 56k $335k (exactly $335,320) Höganäs Spel
Whisker Squadron: Survivor $19.99 485 77% 15k $291k (exactly $290,854) Flippfly LLC
Neckbreak older $15.99 415 79% 12k $199k (exactly $199,076) MGP Studios, Solid9 Studio
Titan Attacks! older $9.99 654 92% 20k $196k (exactly $196,004) Puppygames
BE-A Walker older $9.99 651 72% 20k $195k (exactly $195,105) Tequilabyte Studio
Deathsmiles I・II older $39.90 97 95% 2.9k $116k (exactly $116,109) CITY CONNECTION, TAKE×0FF
#KILLALLZOMBIES older $9.99 258 78% 7.7k $77k (exactly $77,323) Fortell Games
PROJECT TACHYON $17.99 117 83% 3.5k $63k (exactly $63,145) STUDIO N9
Memory Lost $19.99 53 92% 1.6k $32k (exactly $31,784) Magic Hazard
DeviDevi Survivor $9.99 51 58% 1.5k $15k (exactly $15,285) PAKOchan Factory
Split Second VR Tactical Shooter · EA $9.99 49 38% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,685) Robertson Gaming Studios
Arcane Tower Survivors $3.99 90 75% 2.7k $11k (exactly $10,773) Red Horde Games
Blood in the Panopticon $12.99 15 100% 450 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) SIS STYLE INTERACTIVE
Autogun Heroes: Supercharged $12.49 13 46% 390 $4.9k (exactly $4,871) Nitro Games

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