Do I ship it?

Games › FPS › FPS + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy FPS?

FPS + Dark Fantasy

Of 104 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy FPS 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.. 199 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $1.2M, ×847 the market median. Revenue is up 25% on the market; 199 games are announced against 60 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 25% on the market, 199 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
FPS + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 104
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $11k → $1.3k → $3.3k → $5.3k → $1.1k → $4.8k → $2.2k (still earning) → $989 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for FPS + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 104
Bottom 30% $360 (exactly $360)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Top 25% $56k (exactly $56,372)
Top 5% $1.3M (exactly $1,268,965)
Developers, 2 yr 104
Released games 281
Announced 199
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 25% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

FPS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Dark Fantasy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
FPS; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Boomer Shooter
Price point
$7.99 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 $7.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 116,703 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $56k, 1 in 20 over $1.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 51 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 199 games are announced against 60 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + LGBTQ+Fair28 devs · median $32k · 22 announced
  2. + Dating SimFair47 devs · median $19k · 36 announced
  3. + IdlerFair22 devs · median $4.2k · 23 announced
  4. + GamblingFair24 devs · median $4.1k · 22 announced
  5. + FaithFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 12 announced
  6. + Precision PlatformerFair37 devs · median $1.6k · 38 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $1.4k · 12 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair172 devs · median $1.2k · 190 announced
  9. + RunnerLong shot39 devs · median $958 · 43 announced
  10. + Action RTSLong shot16 devs · median $899 · 21 announced
  11. + Bullet HellLong shot130 devs · median $629 · 145 announced
  12. + DogsLong shot6 devs · median $594 · 7 announced

All 216 pairs on the FPS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 2018 · $82M DOOM: The Dark Ages 2025 · $48M Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon 2025 · $45M Witchfire 2024 · EA · $21M Metal: Hellsinger 2022 · $13M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 older $29.99 91,013 84% 2.7M $82M (exactly $81,884,396) Fatshark
DOOM: The Dark Ages $49.99 32,209 88% 966k $48M (exactly $48,303,837) id Software
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon $44.99 33,560 87% 1.0M $45M (exactly $45,295,932) Questline
Witchfire · EA $39.99 17,131 91% 514k $21M (exactly $20,552,061) The Astronauts
Metal: Hellsinger older $29.99 13,989 96% 420k $13M (exactly $12,585,903) The Outsiders
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide older $29.99 13,662 81% 410k $12M (exactly $12,291,701) Fatshark
Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition older $39.99 4,820 69% 145k $5.8M (exactly $5,782,554) Flying Wild Hog
AMID EVIL older $19.99 6,654 93% 200k $4.0M (exactly $3,990,404) Indefatigable
Hellsplit: Arena older $24.99 3,735 83% 112k $2.8M (exactly $2,800,130) Deep Type Games
Forgive Me Father older $19.99 3,705 84% 111k $2.2M (exactly $2,221,888) Byte Barrel
Beyond Citadel $14.99 4,417 96% 133k $2.0M (exactly $1,986,325) doekuramori
Mage Arena · EA $2.99 17,800 91% 534k $1.6M (exactly $1,596,660) jrsjams
Labyrinth Of The Demon King $19.99 2,116 92% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,268,965) J. R. Hudepohl
Mohrta $19.99 1,482 91% 44k $889k (exactly $888,755) Scumhead, Osiol
Heretic + Hexen $14.99 1,789 95% 54k $805k (exactly $804,513) id Software, Nightdive Studios
Metal Garden $5.99 4,375 96% 131k $786k (exactly $786,188) Tinerasoft
Bloodshed $12.99 1,824 84% 55k $711k (exactly $710,813) com8com1 Software

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