Do I ship it?

GamesTop-Down ShooterTop-Down Shooter + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led Top-Down Shooter?

Top-Down Shooter + Female Protagonist

Of 107 developers who shipped a Female-Led 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.. 141 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $72k, ×152 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 141 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 141 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Top-Down Shooter + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 107
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $12k → $3.1k → $898 → $2.4k → $898 → $1.5k (still earning) → $358 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Top-Down Shooter + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 107
Bottom 30% $294 (exactly $294)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,166)
Top 25% $5.8k (exactly $5,846)
Top 5% $72k (exactly $72,280)
Developers, 2 yr 107
Released games 300
Announced 141
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 85% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Top-Down Shooter
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Female Protagonist
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Top-Down Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Bullet Hell, Shooter
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Anime
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 85% positive over 4,297 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $5.8k, 1 in 20 over $72k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 55 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 141 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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
Black Skylands older $19.99 2,849 82% 85k $1.7M (exactly $1,708,545) Hungry Couch Games
Silly Polly Beast $19.99 2,278 90% 68k $1.4M (exactly $1,366,117) Anji
UBERMOSH older $4.99 8,757 92% 263k $1.3M (exactly $1,310,923) Walter Machado
永远消失的幻想乡 ~ The Disappearing of Gensokyo older $10.99 3,023 83% 91k $997k (exactly $996,683) MyACG Studio
Soundfall older $29.99 996 73% 30k $896k (exactly $896,101) Drastic Games
Cavalry Girls older $11.99 1,877 88% 56k $675k (exactly $675,157) 中子星游戏研究所
Picayune Dreams older $4.99 4,164 98% 125k $623k (exactly $623,351) Stepford, Andyland, milkypossum
Multi Turret Academy · EA older $8.99 1,778 95% 53k $480k (exactly $479,527) Yulia Games
The Shadow of Yidhra older $10.99 1,355 89% 41k $447k (exactly $446,744) WhitePeach
Kill The Crows older $4.99 2,848 95% 85k $426k (exactly $426,346) 5minlab Corp.
DoDonPachi Resurrection Reignite $24.99 158 42% 4.7k $118k (exactly $118,453) CAVE Interactive CO., LTD.
Touhou ~Red Empress Devil. $8.99 438 70% 13k $118k (exactly $118,129) STUDIO POCO
BIRDCAGE $13.99 218 97% 6.5k $91k (exactly $91,495) POLYGON BIRD
MYRIAD DEATH $8.99 274 85% 8.2k $74k (exactly $73,898) IGNITION M, Clover Lab.,inc.
Maid Survivors : Little Angels · EA $8.99 268 93% 8.0k $72k (exactly $72,280) MilkEmpire
Gunner-chan! $9.99 220 90% 6.6k $66k (exactly $65,934) kido
HSS:Reload $8.99 181 71% 5.4k $49k (exactly $48,816) SmokingBear Studio
Spy Drops $14.99 93 63% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) Rainy Night Creations
Antivirus Girl $7.99 169 88% 5.1k $41k (exactly $40,509) Chowbie

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