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Should I ship a Collectathon Shoot 'Em Up?
Collectathon + Shoot 'Em Up
Of 24 developers who shipped a Collectathon 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.. 18 more are announced.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $360, ×0.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $26k, ×57 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 18 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $119 (exactly $119) |
|---|---|
| Median | $359 (exactly $359) |
| Top 25% | $5.7k (exactly $5,689) |
| Top 5% | $27k (exactly $26,982) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 24 |
| Released games | 62 |
| Announced | 18 |
| 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 70% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 6%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Collectathon
- 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
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Collectathon, Shoot 'Em Up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Arcade
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cinematic, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 59% positive over 774 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
Collectathon with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Job SimulatorStrong odds
- + CapitalismStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + EconomyFair
- + ManagementFair
- + CrimeFair
- + Level EditorFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + SokobanFair
- + MythologyFair
- + UnderwaterFair
- + Combat RacingFair
Comparable games
Squirrel with a Gun 2024 · $1.9M 
BLACKWOOD 2026 · $424k 
Epic Battle Fantasy Collection 2022 · $84k 
Sophstar 2022 · $28k 
Look Mum No Computer 2025 · $27k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Squirrel with a Gun | older | $19.99 | 3,112 86% | 93k | $1.9M (exactly $1,866,266) | Dee Dee Creations LLC |
| | BLACKWOOD | $24.99 | 565 46% | 17k | $424k (exactly $423,580) | AttritoM7 Productions | |
| | Epic Battle Fantasy Collection | older | $7.99 | 349 95% | 10k | $84k (exactly $83,655) | Matt Roszak |
| | Sophstar | older | $9.99 | 94 100% | 2.8k | $28k (exactly $28,172) | Banana Bytes |
| | Look Mum No Computer | $14.99 | 60 98% | 1.8k | $27k (exactly $26,982) | The Bitfather | |
 | WAIFU IMPACT | older | $5.99 | 148 85% | 4.4k | $27k (exactly $26,596) | Mitsuki Game Studio |
 | Insiders | older | $13.99 | 40 80% | 1.2k | $17k (exactly $16,788) | ANG People s.r.o. |
 | Deadtime Defenders | $9.99 | 48 79% | 1.4k | $14k (exactly $14,386) | Arcane Embers | |
 | The Phoenix Gene VR | $24.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $7.5k (exactly $7,497) | HEROmation | |
 | Adventure Rush | older | $9.99 | 21 100% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | MrBoscheinen |
 | Speedollama | $8.99 | 23 95% | 690 | $6.2k (exactly $6,203) | Chaosmonger Studio | |
 | GutBuster | $4.99 | 38 100% | 1.1k | $5.7k (exactly $5,689) | RoyalJellySoftware | |
 | Seeker Quest: The Creature Collector | $6.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) | Jestercraft | |
 | Monsters Loot Swag | $19.99 | 3 66% | 90 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | YorkshireRifles | |
 | IM LOOPY FOR DOOP LOOPS!!! | $4.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) | JakeHub, Metater | |
 | Monster Rush Survivors | $4.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $599 (exactly $599) | Cube Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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