Should I ship an LGBTQ+ FPS?
FPS + LGBTQ+
Of 28 developers who shipped an LGBTQ+ 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.. 22 more are announced.
Verdict: fair, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $32k, ×21 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $3.0k. Revenue is up 180% on the market; 22 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) |
|---|---|
| Median | $32k (exactly $31,641) |
| Top 25% | $166k (exactly $165,960) |
| Top 5% | $54M (exactly $53,889,324) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 28 |
| Released games | 86 |
| Announced | 22 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 180% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 16%, 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $69.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $69.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 121,629 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 5 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
Comparable games
Cyberpunk 2077 2020 · $1.6B 
Borderlands 4 2025 · $122M 
Marathon 2026 · $54M 
Far Cry® New Dawn 2019 · $39M 
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle 2024 · $27M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cyberpunk 2077 | older | $59.99 | 883,400 87% | 27M | $1.6B (exactly $1,589,854,980) | CD PROJEKT RED |
| | Borderlands 4 | $69.99 | 57,874 59% | 1.7M | $122M (exactly $121,518,038) | Gearbox Software | |
| | Marathon | $39.99 | 44,919 81% | 1.3M | $54M (exactly $53,889,324) | Bungie | |
| | Far Cry® New Dawn | older | $39.99 | 32,169 75% | 965k | $39M (exactly $38,593,149) | Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Kiev, Ubisoft… (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Kiev, Ubisoft Shanghai) |
| | Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | $69.99 | 13,058 89% | 392k | $27M (exactly $27,417,883) | MachineGames | |
 | Wolfenstein: Youngblood | older | $19.99 | 12,702 43% | 381k | $7.6M (exactly $7,617,389) | MachineGames, Arkane Studios |
 | Call of Duty®: Vanguard | older | $59.99 | 4,172 67% | 125k | $7.5M (exactly $7,508,348) | Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, High Moon… (Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, High Moon Studios, Raven Software, Beenox, Demonware) |
 | FATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Maiden of Black Water | older | $39.99 | 5,442 82% | 163k | $6.5M (exactly $6,528,767) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
 | Immortals of Aveum™ | older | $59.99 | 2,794 71% | 84k | $5.0M (exactly $5,028,362) | Ascendant Studios |
 | 月に寄りそう乙女の作法 | older | $39.99 | 3,462 97% | 104k | $4.2M (exactly $4,153,361) | Navel |
 | Battle Shapers | $24.99 | 984 80% | 30k | $738k (exactly $737,705) | Metric Empire | |
 | Don't Stop, Girlypop! | $19.99 | 518 83% | 16k | $311k (exactly $310,645) | Funny Fintan Softworks | |
 | Brush Burial: Gutter World | $9.99 | 838 93% | 25k | $251k (exactly $251,149) | Knife Demon Software | |
 | City Lights Love Bites Season 0 [Pilot Season] | $2.00 | 2,766 94% | 83k | $166k (exactly $165,960) | NaughtyOba | |
 | Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion | $9.99 | 353 93% | 11k | $106k (exactly $105,794) | Bubby Darkstar | |
 | Project Songbird | $14.99 | 195 85% | 5.9k | $88k (exactly $87,692) | FYRE Games, Conner Rush | |
 | Lust Effect [18+] | $14.99 | 124 66% | 3.7k | $56k (exactly $55,763) | Dirty Adventures 🖤 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.