Do I ship it?

Games › Top-Down Shooter › Top-Down Shooter + Dark Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Top-Down Shooter?

Top-Down Shooter + Dark Fantasy

Of 70 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy Top-Down 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.. 122 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $390k, ×624 the market median. Revenue is up 360% on the market; 122 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 360% on the market, 122 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Top-Down Shooter + Dark Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 70
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $899 → $5.6k → $2.7k → $2.4k → $898 → $2.7k → $2.9k (still earning) → $897 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Top-Down Shooter + Dark Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 70
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,676)
Top 25% $9.1k (exactly $9,109)
Top 5% $392k (exactly $392,144)
Developers, 2 yr 70
Released games 163
Announced 122
Effort 5 / 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 up 360% on the market, supply 35% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Top-Down Shooter
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Top-Down Shooter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Bullet Hell, Roguelite
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.50 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.50 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 22,552 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $9.1k, 1 in 20 over $390k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $3.7k · 10 announced
  2. + Turn-Based StrategyFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  3. + World War IIFair11 devs · median $1.4k · 15 announced
  4. + IdlerFair24 devs · median $748 · 30 announced
  5. + ArcheryFair9 devs · median $359 · 11 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds12 devs · median $6.5k · 28 announced
  7. + Tactical RPGPoor odds12 devs · median $5.5k · 16 announced
  8. + Action RTSPoor odds14 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + HistoricalPoor odds18 devs · median $3.3k · 24 announced
  10. + ModernPoor odds13 devs · median $3.3k · 19 announced
  11. + CraftingPoor odds45 devs · median $3.1k · 125 announced
  12. + DystopianPoor odds24 devs · median $3.1k · 92 announced

All 150 pairs on the Top-Down Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Spell Brigade 2026 · $5.7M Hatred 2015 · $4.6M 20 Minutes Till Dawn 2023 · $4.2M Wizard with a Gun 2023 · $2.2M KILL KNIGHT 2024 · $811k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Spell Brigade $12.99 14,731 80% 442k $5.7M (exactly $5,740,671) Bolt Blaster Games
Hatred older $5.99 25,770 84% 773k $4.6M (exactly $4,630,869) Destructive Creations
20 Minutes Till Dawn older $4.99 27,872 90% 836k $4.2M (exactly $4,172,438) flanne
Wizard with a Gun older $24.99 2,932 80% 88k $2.2M (exactly $2,198,120) Galvanic Games
KILL KNIGHT $14.99 1,804 93% 54k $811k (exactly $811,259) PlaySide
Arms of God · EA $11.50 1,871 88% 56k $645k (exactly $645,495) Dark Jay Studio
Kill The Crows older $4.99 2,848 95% 85k $426k (exactly $426,346) 5minlab Corp.
Achilles: Survivor $8.99 1,454 81% 44k $392k (exactly $392,144) Dark Point Games
Noobs Are Coming $7.99 1,580 82% 47k $379k (exactly $378,726) Overboy
Goobies older $5.99 1,866 90% 56k $335k (exactly $335,320) Höganäs Spel
Hand of Fate: Hordes · EA $11.99 312 79% 9.4k $112k (exactly $112,226) Spitfire Interactive
Dark Fairy Tale: Dreamland Survivors $4.99 479 90% 14k $72k (exactly $71,706) BINGOBELL
Book Shooter $6.99 107 86% 3.2k $22k (exactly $22,438) SOS GameLab.
Echoes of Red $4.99 146 90% 4.4k $22k (exactly $21,856) TERMAX Studios
Cthulhu's Reach: Devil Reef $9.99 68 80% 2.0k $20k (exactly $20,380) The Fine Arc

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