Do I ship it?

GamesShooterShooter + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Shooter?

Shooter + Demons

Of 168 developers who shipped a Demon 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.. 242 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.1k, ×1.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $240; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×827 the market median. Revenue is up 10% on the market; 242 games are announced against 86 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 242 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 168
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.3k → $1.9k → $896 → $2.3k → $899 → $2.7k → $987 (still earning) → $446 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 168
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 25% $8.4k (exactly $8,390)
Top 5% $519k (exactly $519,080)
Developers, 2 yr 168
Released games 522
Announced 242
Effort 6 / 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 10% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Shooter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, FPS, Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 51,038 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $1.1k, 1 in 4 over $8.3k, 1 in 20 over $510k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 8 in 10 of the 98 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 242 games are announced against 86 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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
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
Evil West older $49.99 10,215 74% 306k $15M (exactly $15,319,436) Flying Wild Hog
Zombie Army 4: Dead War older $49.99 10,028 86% 301k $15M (exactly $15,038,992) Rebellion
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
Silly Polly Beast $19.99 2,278 90% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,366,117) Anji
Painkiller $39.99 1,091 54% 33k $1.3M (exactly $1,308,873) Anshar Studios
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
KILL KNIGHT $14.99 1,804 93% 54k $811k (exactly $811,259) PlaySide
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
Grind Survivors $12.99 1,332 69% 40k $519k (exactly $519,080) Pushka Studios
Trench Tales · EA $24.99 601 69% 18k $451k (exactly $450,570) Talking Drums

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