Do I ship it?

Games › Class-Based › Class-Based + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Class-Based game?

Class-Based + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 23 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up Class-Based 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.. 26 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $720, ×0.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $110; 1 in 20 cleared $12k, ×8.5 the market median. Revenue is up 65% on the market; 26 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 65% on the market, 26 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Class-Based + Shoot 'Em Up
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 → $356 → $3.1k → $5.0k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Class-Based + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $105 (exactly $105)
Median $719 (exactly $719)
Top 25% $5.0k (exactly $4,984)
Top 5% $13k (exactly $12,724)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 55
Announced 26
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 65% on the market, supply 90% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Class-Based
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Class-Based, Shoot 'Em Up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Comedy, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 353 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $110, median $720, 1 in 4 over $4.9k, 1 in 20 over $12k.

3 in 10 developers made under $110. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 26 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Class-Based with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + AutomationFair19 devs · median $6.6k · 22 announced
  2. + Bullet HeavenFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 38 announced
  3. + SupernaturalLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  4. + 2D PlatformerLong shot26 devs · median $539 · 30 announced
  5. + FPSPoor odds22 devs · median $70k · 70 announced
  6. + MMORPGPoor odds7 devs · median $61k · 57 announced
  7. + Base BuildingPoor odds18 devs · median $33k · 44 announced
  8. + WarPoor odds17 devs · median $32k · 59 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds16 devs · median $18k · 29 announced
  10. + MilitaryPoor odds17 devs · median $13k · 42 announced
  11. + Third-Person ShooterPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  12. + WargamePoor odds14 devs · median $9.4k · 28 announced

All 111 pairs on the Class-Based page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

SNKRX 2021 · $377k Zombie Builder Defense 2 2023 · $63k ASTRO AQUA KITTY 2021 · $36k Kritter: Defend Together 2026 · $33k Evasion 2018 · $29k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
SNKRX older $2.99 4,198 94% 126k $377k (exactly $376,561) a327ex
Zombie Builder Defense 2 older $9.99 210 84% 6.3k $63k (exactly $62,937) Noham Games
ASTRO AQUA KITTY older $14.99 79 87% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,526) TIKIPOD
Kritter: Defend Together $9.99 109 86% 3.3k $33k (exactly $32,667) LJF Games
Evasion older $19.99 48 68% 1.4k $29k (exactly $28,786) Archiact
Phoenix Force older $0.99 658 83% 20k $20k (exactly $19,543) Awoker Games
Neon Striker · EA $4.99 85 87% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,724) Zeno's Adventure Team, Nickonhawk Games
Deathtide · EA older $4.99 69 66% 2.1k $10k (exactly $10,329) Luiz Pascoto
MAGE: Mega Awesome Gregarious Encounters $9.99 29 89% 870 $8.7k (exactly $8,691) FunRug Studio
Project Lazarus 2 $6.99 33 75% 990 $6.9k (exactly $6,920) Terapoly
No More Demon · EA $12.99 16 87% 480 $6.2k (exactly $6,235) Mundus Games
Cosmic Carnage $4.49 37 94% 1.1k $5.0k (exactly $4,984) LionSword
All Systems Operational $9.99 14 100% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) Seatoad LLC
Push & Plunder $9.99 13 84% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) Skylor Beck
Red Crucible Assault · EA $14.99 7 100% 210 $3.1k (exactly $3,148) Massive Head Games
Running Riot $2.99 10 100% 300 $897 (exactly $897) Party Moose Games

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