Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Dystopian Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Dystopian

Of 37 developers who shipped a Dystopian Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 73 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.9 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $17k, ×36 the market median. Revenue is up 350% on the market; 73 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 73 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Dystopian
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: $2.3k → $2.0k → $446 → $2.4k → $300 → $3.1k → $269 (still earning) → $3.0k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 37
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,116)
Top 5% $17k (exactly $17,083)
Developers, 2 yr 37
Released games 124
Announced 73
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 350% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than 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.

Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Dystopian
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
Shoot 'Em Up; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Arcade
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Linear, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 602 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $450, 1 in 4 over $3.1k, 1 in 20 over $17k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. All of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shoot 'Em Up with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FaithFair13 devs · median $17k · 13 announced
  2. + RomanceFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  4. + Quick-Time EventsFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair39 devs · median $628 · 36 announced
  6. + IdlerFair36 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  7. + Tower DefenseFair70 devs · median $599 · 54 announced
  8. + Resource ManagementFair26 devs · median $599 · 34 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair749 devs · median $419 · 783 announced
  10. + SwordplayLong shot13 devs · median $300 · 5 announced
  11. + MusicPoor odds12 devs · median $9.0k · 12 announced
  12. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $8.1k · 20 announced

All 169 pairs on the Shoot 'Em Up page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Crysis 2 Remastered 2022 · $8.1M Crysis 3 Remastered 2022 · $7.0M HUNTDOWN 2021 · $2.4M After the Fall® 2021 · $1.5M Angel at Dusk 2024 · $754k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Crysis 2 Remastered older $29.99 9,034 89% 271k $8.1M (exactly $8,127,890) Crytek, Saber Interactive
Crysis 3 Remastered older $29.99 7,731 88% 232k $7.0M (exactly $6,955,581) Crytek, Saber Interactive
HUNTDOWN older $19.99 4,059 94% 122k $2.4M (exactly $2,434,182) Easy Trigger Games
After the Fall® older $19.99 2,572 76% 77k $1.5M (exactly $1,542,428) Vertigo Games
Angel at Dusk older $14.99 1,676 98% 50k $754k (exactly $753,697) Akiragoya
Neon Inferno $19.99 378 92% 11k $227k (exactly $226,687) Zenovia Interactive
Mega City Force older $14.99 289 76% 8.7k $130k (exactly $129,963) Undreamed Games
Gearshifters older $24.99 85 80% 2.6k $64k (exactly $63,724) Red Phantom Games
Sector Six older $8.00 223 93% 6.7k $54k (exactly $53,520) V3663L
DOOMBRINGER · EA older $14.99 60 78% 1.8k $27k (exactly $26,982) Anomic Games
Disaster Arms - Impact Project B.A.H.N. $9.99 57 100% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,083) PD_CGT
HoverGrease 2 $19.99 24 83% 720 $14k (exactly $14,393) Altergaze
Vex Clock $14.99 24 95% 720 $11k (exactly $10,793) Dave Microwaves Games
∀stralbringer -Shaded Arkarium- $8.99 25 72% 750 $6.7k (exactly $6,742) Endless Shirafu
GutBuster $4.99 38 100% 1.1k $5.7k (exactly $5,689) RoyalJellySoftware
CLAWPUNK $9.99 16 93% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Kittens in Timespace
System Breakdown $8.99 16 100% 480 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) Anarchy Creations
REM: The Dreamer · EA $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Harmonia Games
Galatico · EA $7.99 13 100% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) Galatico Studios

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