Do I ship it?

GamesShooterShooter + Conspiracy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Conspiracy Shooter?

Shooter + Conspiracy

Of 29 developers who shipped a Conspiracy Shooter 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.. 102 more are announced, ×6.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $74k, ×119 the market median. Revenue is up 410% on the market; 102 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 410% on the market, 102 announced, ×6.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + Conspiracy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $269 → $76k → $599 → $1.6k → $1.5k → $449 → $449 (still earning) → $75k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + Conspiracy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $7.8k (exactly $7,796)
Top 5% $75k (exactly $74,707)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 105
Announced 102
Effort 6 / 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 up 410% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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.

Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Conspiracy
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, FPS
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 1,451 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $450, 1 in 4 over $7.7k, 1 in 20 over $74k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. All of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 102 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.4 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimFair23 devs · median $9.8k · 17 announced
  2. + CollectathonFair69 devs · median $1.4k · 64 announced
  3. + VampiresFair38 devs · median $1.3k · 41 announced
  4. + Walking SimulatorFair68 devs · median $1.2k · 62 announced
  5. + IdlerFair70 devs · median $836 · 59 announced
  6. + Match 3Fair15 devs · median $719 · 5 announced
  7. + SnowFair22 devs · median $570 · 23 announced
  8. + Boss RushFair16 devs · median $537 · 20 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair85 devs · median $479 · 88 announced
  10. + ArcadeLong shot1,151 devs · median $419 · 1,332 announced
  11. + Score AttackLong shot372 devs · median $300 · 352 announced
  12. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds25 devs · median $139k · 45 announced

All 229 pairs on the Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided older $29.99 30,709 77% 921k $28M (exactly $27,628,887) Eidos Montreal, Feral Interactive (Linu… (Eidos Montreal, Feral Interactive (Linux/Mac))
SCP: 5K · EA older $19.99 12,334 80% 370k $7.4M (exactly $7,396,700) Affray Interactive
Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition older $6.99 13,740 94% 412k $2.9M (exactly $2,881,278) Ion Storm
Squirrel with a Gun older $19.99 3,112 86% 93k $1.9M (exactly $1,866,266) Dee Dee Creations LLC
Rollerdrome older $29.99 1,486 91% 45k $1.3M (exactly $1,336,954) Roll7
Alex Jones: NWO Wars older $17.76 1,745 92% 52k $930k (exactly $929,736) NWO Wars Team
XIII older $19.99 1,374 39% 41k $824k (exactly $823,988) PlayMagic
Ricochet older $4.99 4,549 82% 136k $681k (exactly $680,985) Valve
Agent 64: Spies Never Die $21.64 863 86% 26k $560k (exactly $560,260) Replicant D6
Deus Ex: Invisible War older $6.99 2,199 57% 66k $461k (exactly $461,130) Ion Storm
PARKSIDE: DECAYED SOUL MANIPULATION $13.99 178 87% 5.3k $75k (exactly $74,707) Banana Hardsoft
The Black Ice · EA $14.99 147 77% 4.4k $66k (exactly $66,106) RED CRAB GAMES, Antelus Games
NEDRA $14.99 76 76% 2.3k $34k (exactly $34,177) Davit Andreasyan
Seth $12.99 36 77% 1.1k $14k (exactly $14,029) Chaotic Games
They're Alive! $4.99 75 57% 2.3k $11k (exactly $11,228) Orion Games
Inky Blinky Bob $9.99 33 81% 990 $9.9k (exactly $9,890) ELDELIC GAMES
Chimera CUSTOM XG · EA $19.99 13 100% 390 $7.8k (exactly $7,796) Volok Games
The Fortress of Dr. Radiaki - Fancy Edition $5.99 23 82% 690 $4.1k (exactly $4,133) Jordan Freeman Group, Future Visionary,… (Jordan Freeman Group, Future Visionary, Maelstorm Software)
Dino Genesis · EA $6.99 7 71% 210 $1.5k (exactly $1,468) 98 REDD GAMES

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