Do I ship it?

Games › FPS › FPS + Flight

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Flight FPS?

FPS + Flight

Of 21 developers who shipped a Flight FPS 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.. 66 more are announced, ×7.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.5k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $760k, ×512 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 66 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 66 announced, ×7.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
FPS + Flight
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $4.2k → $1.3k → $179 → $2.7k → $45k → $0 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for FPS + Flight: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $1.5k (exactly $1,499)
Top 25% $8.6k (exactly $8,626)
Top 5% $766k (exactly $766,289)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 145
Announced 66
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 20% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

FPS
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Flight
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
FPS, Flight; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 84% positive over 13,276 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $1.5k, 1 in 4 over $8.6k, 1 in 20 over $760k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 8 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LGBTQ+Fair28 devs · median $32k · 22 announced
  2. + Dating SimFair47 devs · median $19k · 36 announced
  3. + IdlerFair22 devs · median $4.2k · 23 announced
  4. + GamblingFair24 devs · median $4.1k · 22 announced
  5. + FaithFair14 devs · median $1.9k · 12 announced
  6. + Precision PlatformerFair37 devs · median $1.6k · 38 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair13 devs · median $1.4k · 12 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair172 devs · median $1.2k · 190 announced
  9. + RunnerLong shot39 devs · median $958 · 43 announced
  10. + Action RTSLong shot16 devs · median $899 · 21 announced
  11. + Bullet HellLong shot130 devs · median $629 · 145 announced
  12. + DogsLong shot6 devs · median $594 · 7 announced

All 216 pairs on the FPS page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Brick Rigs 2023 · $32M STAR WARS™: Squadrons 2020 · $30M Jump Space 2025 · EA · $6.4M Guns of Icarus Online 2012 · $1.2M Megaton Rainfall 2017 · $1.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Brick Rigs older $19.99 53,749 95% 1.6M $32M (exactly $32,233,275) Fluppisoft GmbH
STAR WARS™: Squadrons older $39.99 25,086 66% 753k $30M (exactly $30,095,674) MOTIVE
Jump Space · EA $19.99 10,724 85% 322k $6.4M (exactly $6,431,183) Keepsake Games
Guns of Icarus Online older $4.99 8,245 91% 247k $1.2M (exactly $1,234,276) Muse Games
Megaton Rainfall older $15.99 2,155 71% 65k $1.0M (exactly $1,033,754) Pentadimensional Games, SL
Vietnam War · EA $14.99 1,704 84% 51k $766k (exactly $766,289) Thorium Game Lab
Land of War - The Beginning older $19.99 713 53% 21k $428k (exactly $427,586) MS GAMES
Aquanox Deep Descent older $29.99 463 48% 14k $417k (exactly $416,561) Digital Arrow
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover Blitz Edition older $9.99 1,116 66% 33k $334k (exactly $334,465) Team Fusion Simulations, 1C: Maddox Gam… (Team Fusion Simulations, 1C: Maddox Games)
Descent older $19.99 462 96% 14k $277k (exactly $277,061) Parallax
Desecrators $14.99 327 96% 9.8k $147k (exactly $147,052) Woodhound
The AC130 slays the zombies. $3.99 377 63% 11k $45k (exactly $45,127) 汪双羽
无梦少女 DreamlessGirl $9.99 49 65% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,685) REZEROR STUDIO
Kamikaze Strike: FPV Drone $5.99 48 83% 1.4k $8.6k (exactly $8,626) Dinomore Games
Ghost Battalion $18.99 5 80% 150 $2.8k (exactly $2,848) Weary Road Productions
Starfield Battlegrounds $6.99 13 69% 390 $2.7k (exactly $2,726) 谭浩翔
Drones of War: FPV Drone Simulator · EA $3.49 26 61% 780 $2.7k (exactly $2,722) Loren
Under Destruction · EA $18.99 3 66% 90 $1.7k (exactly $1,709) Quantum Dynamics

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