Do I ship it?

Games › FPS › FPS + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon FPS?

FPS + Demons

Of 172 developers who shipped a Demon 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.. 207 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×0.7 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $440k, ×299 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 207 games are announced against 94 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 207 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
FPS + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 172
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.1k → $1.9k → $1.5k → $2.7k → $899 → $1.3k → $838 (still earning) → $449 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for FPS + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 172
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,076)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,294)
Top 5% $448k (exactly $448,351)
Developers, 2 yr 172
Released games 463
Announced 207
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 15% on the market, supply 20% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

FPS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Demons
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 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 $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 50,052 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 $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $440k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 93 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 207 games are announced against 94 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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

DOOM Eternal 2020 · $169M DOOM 2016 · $93M DOOM: The Dark Ages 2025 · $48M Shadow Warrior 2 2016 · $22M Shadow Warrior 2013 · $14M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DOOM Eternal older $29.99 187,483 91% 5.6M $169M (exactly $168,678,455) id Software
DOOM older $19.99 155,340 95% 4.7M $93M (exactly $93,157,398) id Software
DOOM: The Dark Ages $49.99 32,209 88% 966k $48M (exactly $48,303,837) id Software
Shadow Warrior 2 older $29.99 24,120 87% 724k $22M (exactly $21,700,764) Flying Wild Hog
Shadow Warrior older $29.99 15,960 92% 479k $14M (exactly $14,359,212) Flying Wild Hog
Metal: Hellsinger older $29.99 13,989 96% 420k $13M (exactly $12,585,903) The Outsiders
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun older $21.99 15,741 90% 472k $10M (exactly $10,384,338) Auroch Digital
DOOM + DOOM II older $9.99 25,468 96% 764k $7.6M (exactly $7,632,760) id Software, Nightdive Studios
Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition older $39.99 4,820 69% 145k $5.8M (exactly $5,782,554) Flying Wild Hog
Blood West older $24.99 6,132 90% 184k $4.6M (exactly $4,597,160) Hyperstrange
Painkiller $39.99 1,091 54% 33k $1.3M (exactly $1,308,873) Anshar Studios
Labyrinth Of The Demon King $19.99 2,116 92% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,268,965) J. R. Hudepohl
BRAZILIAN DRUG DEALER 3: I OPENED A PORTAL TO HELL IN THE FAVELA TRYING TO REVIVE MIT AIA I NEED TO CLOSE IT $4.99 7,743 97% 232k $1.2M (exactly $1,159,127) Joeveno
Luna Abyss $29.99 923 86% 28k $830k (exactly $830,423) Kwalee Labs
Bloodshed $12.99 1,824 84% 55k $711k (exactly $710,813) com8com1 Software
Project Warlock II $16.99 1,233 80% 37k $628k (exactly $628,460) Buckshot Software
The Other Side · EA $13.99 1,181 93% 35k $496k (exactly $495,666) Vectora Games
INCISION $14.99 997 85% 30k $448k (exactly $448,351) SmoothBrainDev
Priest Simulator: Vampire Show $19.99 735 94% 22k $441k (exactly $440,779) Asmodev

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