Should I ship a Runner FPS?
FPS + Runner
Of 39 developers who shipped a Runner 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.
Verdict: long shot, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $960, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $340k, ×230 the market median. Revenue is down 15% on the market; 43 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $958 (exactly $958) |
| Top 25% | $3.4k (exactly $3,443) |
| Top 5% | $344k (exactly $344,495) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 39 |
| Released games | 143 |
| Announced | 43 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 15% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 22%, 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, Runner; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, 3D Platformer
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D, Stylized
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 88% positive over 2,338 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 7 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
- + Action RTSLong shot
- + Bullet HellLong shot
- + DogsLong shot
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
Comparable games
STRIDE 2022 · $1.2M 
Phantom Abyss 2024 · $1.2M 
SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell 2016 · $922k 
DeadCore 2014 · $475k 
ODDCORE 2026 · EA · $421k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | STRIDE | older | $19.99 | 1,975 79% | 59k | $1.2M (exactly $1,184,408) | Joy Way |
| | Phantom Abyss | older | $19.99 | 1,962 81% | 59k | $1.2M (exactly $1,176,611) | Team WIBY |
| | SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell | older | $14.99 | 2,050 95% | 62k | $922k (exactly $921,885) | Pine Studio |
| | DeadCore | older | $9.99 | 1,584 85% | 48k | $475k (exactly $474,725) | 5 Bits Games |
| | ODDCORE | · EA | $12.99 | 1,080 96% | 32k | $421k (exactly $420,876) | ODDCORP |
 | Island Notes | $12.99 | 884 82% | 27k | $344k (exactly $344,495) | KangBaoGame | |
 | Espire 1: VR Operative | older | $19.99 | 381 54% | 11k | $228k (exactly $228,486) | Digital Lode Immersive Media |
 | Warstride Challenges | older | $19.99 | 242 89% | 7.3k | $145k (exactly $145,127) | Dream Powered Games |
 | [Chilla's Art] The Caregiver | 終焉介護 | older | $4.99 | 431 80% | 13k | $65k (exactly $64,521) | Chilla's Art |
 | Hell of an Office | $14.99 | 121 89% | 3.6k | $54k (exactly $54,414) | 43 Studios | |
 | JETRUNNER | $9.99 | 118 96% | 3.5k | $35k (exactly $35,365) | Riddlebit Software | |
 | SPEEDSHOT | $14.99 | 27 100% | 810 | $12k (exactly $12,142) | karmacode | |
 | The Backrooms: Rescue Expedition | $9.99 | 21 33% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,294) | {CRYTIME} | |
 | Prison Escape Simulator | $9.99 | 18 77% | 540 | $5.4k (exactly $5,395) | PEGAX Studios | |
 | Hell Runner | $14.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) | Moonlight Studio | |
 | Crab Game 2 | $3.99 | 36 22% | 1.1k | $4.3k (exactly $4,309) | Jeff | |
 | Jenny Love You | $4.99 | 23 69% | 690 | $3.4k (exactly $3,443) | Phantom Pixel |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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