Should I ship an Idler FPS?
FPS + Idler
Of 22 developers who shipped an Idler 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.. 23 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.2k, ×2.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $840. Revenue is up 725% on the market; 23 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $836 (exactly $836) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.2k (exactly $4,192) |
| Top 25% | $11k (exactly $11,012) |
| Top 5% | $24k (exactly $24,060) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 22 |
| Released games | 64 |
| Announced | 23 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 725% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS, Idler; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Action, Puzzle
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $3.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Anime, First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $3.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 1,859 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $840. 8 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
Comparable games
Dead District: Survival 2023 · $124k 
KUNKUN Defender 2024 · $74k 
Sakura Hime 3 2022 · $64k 
CYBRID 2021 · EA · $63k 
5 NIGHTS AT SHALUN 4: SCHOOL 2024 · $32k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Dead District: Survival | older | $9.99 | 415 48% | 12k | $124k (exactly $124,376) | BadBit Games |
| | KUNKUN Defender | older | $2.99 | 822 97% | 25k | $74k (exactly $73,733) | Seal |
| | Sakura Hime 3 | older | $3.99 | 532 95% | 16k | $64k (exactly $63,680) | GirlGames |
| | CYBRID | · EA older | $14.99 | 139 89% | 4.2k | $63k (exactly $62,508) | Tom Reason |
| | 5 NIGHTS AT SHALUN 4: SCHOOL | $1.99 | 535 93% | 16k | $32k (exactly $31,940) | Team GZ, VADIM CHURILOV | |
 | Sakura Hime 4 | older | $3.99 | 266 93% | 8.0k | $32k (exactly $31,840) | GirlGames |
 | Elf World Adventure: Part 1 | older | $1.99 | 467 82% | 14k | $28k (exactly $27,880) | White Panda Studio, 430Games |
 | Sakura Hime 5 | $3.99 | 201 93% | 6.0k | $24k (exactly $24,060) | GirlGames | |
 | ENCOUNTER BAR | $0.99 | 590 78% | 18k | $18k (exactly $17,523) | 2R | |
 | Farming Incremental But With Guns | $3.99 | 113 88% | 3.4k | $14k (exactly $13,526) | Clementine Wolf Games | |
 | The Dawn: Sniper's Way | $24.99 | 18 22% | 540 | $13k (exactly $13,495) | PHOSPHORUS GAMES | |
 | Paperwork | $3.99 | 92 95% | 2.8k | $11k (exactly $11,012) | Broken Record Studio | |
 | The Candle | $4.99 | 71 91% | 2.1k | $11k (exactly $10,629) | Candle Dev | |
 | Angel's Love | $2.99 | 109 90% | 3.3k | $9.8k (exactly $9,777) | God's City Days | |
 | Farm Supply Simulator 25 | · EA | $11.99 | 26 84% | 780 | $9.4k (exactly $9,352) | Superwolf Game Studio, Lycan Arts |
 | Flirting Goddesses by AFK | $2.99 | 104 96% | 3.1k | $9.3k (exactly $9,329) | God's City Days |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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