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Should I ship an On-Rails Shooter FPS?
FPS + On-Rails Shooter
Of 29 developers who shipped an On-Rails Shooter 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.. 43 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, level with the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $35k, ×24 the market median. Revenue is up 150% on the market; 43 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $180 (exactly $180) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,436) |
| Top 25% | $4.6k (exactly $4,613) |
| Top 5% | $36k (exactly $35,986) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 137 |
| Announced | 43 |
| 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 up 150% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
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
- On-Rails Shooter
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS, On-Rails Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Shooter, Action, Arcade
- Price point
- $6.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 554 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + Dating SimFair
- + IdlerFair
- + GamblingFair
- + FaithFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Martial ArtsFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + RunnerLong shot
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
Comparable games
Pistol Whip 2019 · $3.2M 
killer7 2018 · $2.1M 
Gal*Gun 2 2018 · $1.9M 
The Typing of The Dead: Overkill 2013 · $1.7M 
Gal*Gun: Double Peace 2016 · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Pistol Whip | older | $29.99 | 3,586 94% | 108k | $3.2M (exactly $3,226,324) | Cloudhead Games Ltd. |
| | killer7 | older | $19.99 | 3,465 93% | 104k | $2.1M (exactly $2,077,960) | GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC., Engine So… (GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC., Engine Software BV) |
| | Gal*Gun 2 | older | $29.99 | 2,094 83% | 63k | $1.9M (exactly $1,883,972) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. |
| | The Typing of The Dead: Overkill | older | $19.99 | 2,782 87% | 83k | $1.7M (exactly $1,668,365) | Modern Dream |
| | Gal*Gun: Double Peace | older | $29.99 | 1,829 86% | 55k | $1.6M (exactly $1,645,551) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. |
 | Blue Estate The Game | older | $12.99 | 1,515 92% | 45k | $590k (exactly $590,396) | HE SAW |
 | Gal*Gun VR | older | $29.99 | 468 83% | 14k | $421k (exactly $421,060) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. |
 | Gal*Gun Returns | older | $49.99 | 240 85% | 7.2k | $360k (exactly $359,928) | INTI CREATES CO., LTD. |
 | Beach Invasion 1944 | older | $9.99 | 1,038 84% | 31k | $311k (exactly $311,089) | AIx2 Games |
 | IS Defense | older | $5.99 | 1,465 91% | 44k | $263k (exactly $263,260) | Destructive Creations |
 | Good Kill! | · EA | $13.99 | 104 68% | 3.1k | $44k (exactly $43,649) | gamegine |
 | Operation Night Strikers | $24.99 | 48 77% | 1.4k | $36k (exactly $35,986) | M2 Co., Ltd. | |
 | Sniper Camouflage Orange Spy Warrior I Buried Two Bodies in the Garden and the Police Haven't Figured Out Yet That They're Missing Because They Were a Lonely Old Couple Who Had No Relatives Simulator 2026 | · EA | $9.99 | 77 66% | 2.3k | $23k (exactly $23,077) | The Only Way Out |
 | DOGENSTEIN | $4.99 | 146 73% | 4.4k | $22k (exactly $21,856) | Marc Leclerc | |
 | Beach Invasion 1915-Gallipoli | $7.99 | 73 71% | 2.2k | $17k (exactly $17,498) | AIx2 Games | |
 | Mind Control: Bloody Renaissance | $9.99 | 29 100% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | BYYONI Entertainment | |
 | Moorhuhn 2 | $4.99 | 31 96% | 930 | $4.6k (exactly $4,641) | Higgs Games GmbH, GeekPit Studio | |
 | BeachHead Gold Edition | $6.99 | 22 50% | 660 | $4.6k (exactly $4,613) | Digital Fusion Inc. | |
 | Fasthand | $8.99 | 15 93% | 450 | $4.0k (exactly $4,046) | mefyu video games (MVG) | |
 | ROBOCRACY | $11.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $3.2k (exactly $3,237) | DGMA |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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