Do I ship it?

GamesTop-Down ShooterTop-Down Shooter + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon Top-Down Shooter?

Top-Down Shooter + Demons

Of 37 developers who shipped a Demon 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.. 69 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $810k, ×1708 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 69 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 69 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Top-Down Shooter + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 37
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.2k → $718 → $1.8k → $1.3k → $3.8k → $628 (still earning) → $598 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Top-Down Shooter + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $897 (exactly $897)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,838)
Top 5% $811k (exactly $811,259)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 102
Announced 69
Effort 4 / 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 down 40% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Top-Down Shooter
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Top-Down Shooter; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Stylized, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 6,321 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 $900, 1 in 4 over $3.8k, 1 in 20 over $810k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 69 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Silly Polly Beast $19.99 2,278 90% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,366,117) Anji
HellSign older $19.99 2,147 67% 64k $1.3M (exactly $1,287,556) Ballistic Interactive
KILL KNIGHT $14.99 1,804 93% 54k $811k (exactly $811,259) PlaySide
BDSM: Big Drunk Satanic Massacre older $19.99 1,114 87% 33k $668k (exactly $668,066) Big Way Games
Grind Survivors $12.99 1,332 69% 40k $519k (exactly $519,080) Pushka Studios
Spellbook Demonslayers · EA older $4.99 1,275 73% 38k $191k (exactly $190,868) Xendra
LEVEL UP 80 older $39.99 99 79% 3.0k $119k (exactly $118,770) Galactic Geckon
Demon Hunt · EA $6.99 460 77% 14k $96k (exactly $96,462) Massive Hug
Tormentor❌Punisher older $7.99 304 92% 9.1k $73k (exactly $72,869) E-Studio
DAMON and BABY $19.99 87 89% 2.6k $52k (exactly $52,174) Arc System Works
Raining Blood: Hellfire $7.99 198 89% 5.9k $47k (exactly $47,461) TechBooh
Holy Shot $5.99 53 84% 1.6k $9.5k (exactly $9,524) LoneWolf Digital Arts
Hell Survivors · EA $7.99 38 55% 1.1k $9.1k (exactly $9,109) Aerilon
Dark Sword: The Light of Ainn $3.99 63 93% 1.9k $7.5k (exactly $7,541) MrDoth
Just Move Fall Dungeon Endless Abyss $15.99 8 50% 240 $3.8k (exactly $3,838) daminggede

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