Do I ship it?

Games › FPS › FPS + Mechs

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mech FPS?

FPS + Mechs

Of 29 developers who shipped a Mech 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.. 45 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $12k, ×7.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.1k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.3M, ×6248 the market median. Revenue is up 1455% on the market; 45 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 7.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 1455% on the market, 45 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
FPS + Mechs
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $386 → $29k → $748 → $8.3k → $27k → $510k (still earning) → $32k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for FPS + Mechs: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $1.1k (exactly $1,078)
Median $12k (exactly $11,745)
Top 25% $88k (exactly $87,715)
Top 5% $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 90
Announced 45
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 1455% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Mechs
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Character Customization
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
9 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 55,670 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.1k, median $12k, 1 in 4 over $87k, 1 in 20 over $9.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.1k. 7 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

FPS with a different setting or mood, 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

Titanfall® 2 2020 · $229M DOOM: The Dark Ages 2025 · $48M Generation Zero® 2019 · $22M Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare - Gold Edition 2014 · $13M MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries 2021 · $12M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Titanfall® 2 older $29.99 255,050 95% 7.7M $229M (exactly $229,468,485) Respawn Entertainment
DOOM: The Dark Ages $49.99 32,209 88% 966k $48M (exactly $48,303,837) id Software
Generation Zero® older $24.99 29,115 75% 873k $22M (exactly $21,827,516) Systemic Reaction™
Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare - Gold Edition older $39.99 11,103 64% 333k $13M (exactly $13,320,269) Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries older $29.99 13,347 84% 400k $12M (exactly $12,008,296) Piranha Games Inc.
SAND: Raiders of Sophie · EA $24.99 12,485 49% 375k $9.4M (exactly $9,360,004) Hologryph, TowerHaus
MechWarrior 5: Clans $29.99 5,565 74% 167k $5.0M (exactly $5,006,830) Piranha Games Inc.
Exoprimal older $59.99 2,581 76% 77k $4.6M (exactly $4,645,026) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
F.E.A.R. 3 older $19.99 7,407 69% 222k $4.4M (exactly $4,441,978) Day 1 Studios
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin older $14.99 5,640 83% 169k $2.5M (exactly $2,536,308) Monolith
Psycho Patrol R · EA $39.99 2,090 88% 63k $2.5M (exactly $2,507,373) Consumer Softproducts
IRON REBELLION $24.99 772 84% 23k $579k (exactly $578,768) Black Beach Studio
EMPULSE · EA $9.99 1,701 60% 51k $510k (exactly $509,790) 1047 Games
LIFE EFFECT Survival · EA $14.99 488 85% 15k $219k (exactly $219,454) LIFE EFFECT
UNYIELDER $24.99 117 62% 3.5k $88k (exactly $87,715) TrueWorld Studios
Slyders $9.99 162 85% 4.9k $49k (exactly $48,551) Kato Games
XOL: Space Mech Wars $14.99 81 93% 2.4k $36k (exactly $36,426) Michigames

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