Do I ship it?

Games › Hero Shooter › Hero Shooter + Fantasy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Fantasy Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + Fantasy

Of 35 developers who shipped a Fantasy Hero 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.. 60 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $150 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build. 16 developers shipped in the last year and 60 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 60 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + Fantasy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 35
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $598 → $419 → $1.6k → $239 → $478 → $150 → $0 (still earning) → $716 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + Fantasy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 35
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,514)
Top 5% $803k (exactly $802,599)
Developers, 2 yr 35
Released games 144
Announced 60
Effort 9 / 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 up 80% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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.

Hero Shooter
effort 9 / 10 · low · competitive netcode plus hero balance and content cadence
Fantasy
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 5,664 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $150, 1 in 4 over $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $800k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 60 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hero Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SimulationLong shot31 devs · median $478 · 28 announced
  2. + Bullet HellLong shot59 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  3. + Boomer ShooterLong shot30 devs · median $210 · 21 announced
  4. + MedievalLong shot10 devs · median $150 · 12 announced
  5. + Online Co-OpPoor odds20 devs · median $7.2k · 51 announced
  6. + SuperheroPoor odds6 devs · median $6.3k · 11 announced
  7. + Battle RoyalePoor odds9 devs · median $3.6k · 29 announced
  8. + Co-opPoor odds22 devs · median $3.6k · 53 announced
  9. + PvPPoor odds27 devs · median $2.3k · 127 announced
  10. + PlatformerPoor odds21 devs · median $2.2k · 33 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds25 devs · median $2.1k · 68 announced
  12. + PhysicsPoor odds27 devs · median $1.6k · 34 announced

All 87 pairs on the Hero Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap 2025 · $3.6M Gigantic: Rampage Edition 2024 · $2.3M Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok 2024 · $1.9M Arken Age 2025 · $803k Serious Sam: Shatterverse 2026 · $389k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap $29.99 4,053 69% 122k $3.6M (exactly $3,646,484) Robot Entertainment
Gigantic: Rampage Edition older $19.99 3,795 65% 114k $2.3M (exactly $2,275,862) Abstraction Games
Nordic Ashes: Survivors of Ragnarok older $9.99 6,180 88% 185k $1.9M (exactly $1,852,146) Noxfall Studios
Arken Age $39.99 669 90% 20k $803k (exactly $802,599) VitruviusVR
Serious Sam: Shatterverse $19.99 648 50% 19k $389k (exactly $388,606) Behaviour Interactive Inc.
Black Gunner Wukong older $9.99 417 98% 13k $125k (exactly $124,975) Wukong
Deadrock Redemption 2 $14.99 123 86% 3.7k $55k (exactly $55,313) Entropy Digital Entertainment
STARVAULT VR $24.99 66 89% 2.0k $49k (exactly $49,480) Theia Games
Krosfighter older $9.99 57 64% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,083) Doryah Games
Bots City older $49.99 10 90% 300 $15k (exactly $14,997) Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
WarOfGods 2 $29.99 13 76% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Mensa World
Gun Reflex VR $8.99 42 61% 1.3k $11k (exactly $11,327) OBGames
Just Skill Shooter 4 $9.99 17 76% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Gamesforgames
Super Weapon Master 超级武器大师 $3.99 21 57% 630 $2.5k (exactly $2,514) Idea Cat
Blast Hopper $5.99 12 66% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) Heartscape Games

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