Do I ship it?

GamesHero ShooterHero Shooter + Class-Based

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Class-Based Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + Class-Based

Only 7 developers shipped a paid Class-Based Hero Shooter 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, Marathon, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 4 in 10 of the games here are free to play and sit outside these figures. 34 more are announced, ×8.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $130k against a market of $1.3k. 34 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 97.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 34 announced, ×8.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + Class-Based
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 7

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Hero Shooter + Class-Based: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 7
Bottom 30% $899 (exactly $899)
Median $132k (exactly $131,568)
Top 25% $595k (exactly $595,403)
Top 5% $54M (exactly $53,889,324)
Developers, 2 yr 7
Released games 35
Announced 34
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 60% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 43%, 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.

Hero Shooter
effort 9 / 10 · low · competitive netcode plus hero balance and content cadence
Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter, Class-Based
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 69,085 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $900, median $130k, 1 in 4 over $590k, 1 in 20 over $53M.

3 in 10 developers made under $900. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×8.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hero Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SimulationLong shot31 devs · median $478 · 28 announced
  2. + Bullet HellLong shot59 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  3. + Boomer ShooterLong shot30 devs · median $210 · 21 announced
  4. + MedievalLong shot10 devs · median $150 · 12 announced
  5. + Online Co-OpPoor odds20 devs · median $7.2k · 51 announced
  6. + SuperheroPoor odds6 devs · median $6.3k · 11 announced
  7. + Battle RoyalePoor odds9 devs · median $3.6k · 29 announced
  8. + Co-opPoor odds22 devs · median $3.6k · 53 announced
  9. + PvPPoor odds27 devs · median $2.3k · 127 announced
  10. + PlatformerPoor odds21 devs · median $2.2k · 33 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds25 devs · median $2.1k · 68 announced
  12. + PhysicsPoor odds27 devs · median $1.6k · 34 announced

All 87 pairs on the Hero Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
Primal Carnage: Extinction older $12.99 8,283 84% 248k $3.2M (exactly $3,227,885) Circle Five Studios, Pub Games
Perfect Heist 2 older $9.99 3,711 94% 111k $1.1M (exactly $1,112,187) yeswecamp
Team Fortress Classic older $4.99 7,053 86% 212k $1.1M (exactly $1,055,834) Valve
TRIBES 3: Rivals · EA older $19.99 1,324 61% 40k $794k (exactly $794,003) Prophecy Games
Heroes of Valor · EA $14.99 1,324 90% 40k $595k (exactly $595,403) Fancy Cat Interactive
Neighbors: Suburban Warfare · EA $9.99 1,906 66% 57k $571k (exactly $571,228) Invisible Walls
Birds of War $9.99 439 87% 13k $132k (exactly $131,568) HexNest Games
Combots · EA older $4.99 33 90% 990 $4.9k (exactly $4,940) HardEdge Games
Trianga's Project: Battle Splash 2.0 older $0.99 93 84% 2.8k $2.8k (exactly $2,762) Dranya Studio
Shadow Survival · EA $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Celestial Knight Studios
Bomberball $9.99 1 100% 30 $300 (exactly $300) Texaur Digital
Band of Heroes · EA $1.99 1 100% 30 $60 (exactly $60) VoltNight Studios

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