Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Cyberpunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cyberpunk Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Cyberpunk

Of 92 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk 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.. 134 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×211 the market median. Revenue is up 60% on the market; 134 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 60% on the market, 134 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Cyberpunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 92
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $1.1k → $3.2k → $1.5k → $449 → $1.4k → $479 (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Cyberpunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 92
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $5.7k (exactly $5,664)
Top 5% $133k (exactly $132,662)
Developers, 2 yr 92
Released games 277
Announced 134
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 60% on the market, supply 30% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Cyberpunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Shoot 'Em Up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Bullet Hell
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 3,023 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 $540, 1 in 4 over $5.6k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 44 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 134 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shoot 'Em Up with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FaithFair13 devs · median $17k · 13 announced
  2. + RomanceFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  4. + Quick-Time EventsFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair39 devs · median $628 · 36 announced
  6. + IdlerFair36 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  7. + Tower DefenseFair70 devs · median $599 · 54 announced
  8. + Resource ManagementFair26 devs · median $599 · 34 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair749 devs · median $419 · 783 announced
  10. + SwordplayLong shot13 devs · median $300 · 5 announced
  11. + MusicPoor odds12 devs · median $9.0k · 12 announced
  12. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $8.1k · 20 announced

All 169 pairs on the Shoot 'Em Up page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Furi 2016 · $6.7M Raw Data 2017 · $2.4M HUNTDOWN 2021 · $2.4M Nex Machina 2017 · $880k Gungrave G.O.R.E 2022 · $669k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Furi older $19.99 11,246 90% 337k $6.7M (exactly $6,744,226) The Game Bakers
Raw Data older $39.99 2,036 81% 61k $2.4M (exactly $2,442,589) Survios
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
Nex Machina older $19.99 1,467 89% 44k $880k (exactly $879,760) Housemarque
Gungrave G.O.R.E older $29.99 744 71% 22k $669k (exactly $669,377) Iggymob Co.,Ltd
HUNTDOWN: OVERTIME · EA $16.99 830 88% 25k $423k (exactly $423,051) Easy Trigger Games
Bot Vice older $9.99 1,349 93% 40k $404k (exactly $404,295) DYA Games
Rogue Stormers older $19.99 649 65% 19k $389k (exactly $389,205) Black Forest Games
Whisker Squadron: Survivor $19.99 485 77% 15k $291k (exactly $290,854) Flippfly LLC
Neon Inferno $19.99 378 92% 11k $227k (exactly $226,687) Zenovia Interactive
WAR RATS: The Rat em Up $11.99 382 95% 11k $137k (exactly $137,405) wootusart Industries
Kusan: City of Wolves $14.99 295 89% 8.9k $133k (exactly $132,662) CIRCLEfromDOT
Cyberwar: Neon City · EA $17.99 171 90% 5.1k $92k (exactly $92,289) Cyber Monkey Studios
BIRDCAGE $13.99 218 97% 6.5k $91k (exactly $91,495) POLYGON BIRD
PROJECT TACHYON $17.99 117 83% 3.5k $63k (exactly $63,145) STUDIO N9
NIGHT STRIKER GEAR $18.99 94 88% 2.8k $54k (exactly $53,552) M2 Co., Ltd., M2 Co.,LTD
Memory Lost $19.99 53 92% 1.6k $32k (exactly $31,784) Magic Hazard

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