Games › FPS › FPS + World War II
Should I ship a WWII FPS?
FPS + World War II
Of 21 developers who shipped a WWII 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.. 50 more are announced, ×5.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $590k, ×397 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 50 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $300 (exactly $300) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) |
| Top 25% | $43k (exactly $42,857) |
| Top 5% | $595k (exactly $595,403) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 21 |
| Released games | 173 |
| Announced | 50 |
| 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 down 60% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than 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.
- FPS
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- World War II
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- FPS; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Realistic, 3D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 16,201 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 6 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 50 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
FPS with a different setting or mood, 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Battlefield™ V | older | $49.99 | 236,709 70% | 7.1M | $355M (exactly $354,992,487) | DICE |
| | Hell Let Loose | older | $49.99 | 99,628 83% | 3.0M | $149M (exactly $149,412,112) | Expression Games |
| | Sniper Elite 4 | older | $59.99 | 54,258 91% | 1.6M | $98M (exactly $97,648,123) | Rebellion |
| | Call of Duty®: WWII | older | $59.99 | 33,576 71% | 1.0M | $60M (exactly $60,426,727) | Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software |
| | Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus | older | $39.99 | 35,277 81% | 1.1M | $42M (exactly $42,321,817) | MachineGames |
| | Sniper Elite 5 | older | $49.99 | 24,818 83% | 745k | $37M (exactly $37,219,555) | Rebellion |
| | Wolfenstein: The New Order | older | $19.99 | 46,443 91% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $27,851,867) | MachineGames |
| | Call of Duty: World at War | older | $19.99 | 45,792 92% | 1.4M | $27M (exactly $27,461,462) | Treyarch |
| | Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | $69.99 | 13,058 89% | 392k | $27M (exactly $27,417,883) | MachineGames | |
| | Zombie Army Trilogy | older | $44.99 | 14,285 85% | 429k | $19M (exactly $19,280,464) | Rebellion |
| | Heroes of Valor | · EA | $14.99 | 1,324 90% | 40k | $595k (exactly $595,403) | Fancy Cat Interactive |
| | Tank Squad | $19.99 | 847 70% | 25k | $508k (exactly $507,946) | DeGenerals S.A. | |
| | Army Troop | $14.99 | 366 80% | 11k | $165k (exactly $164,590) | Army Troop Studios | |
| | Zombie Army VR | $29.99 | 182 44% | 5.5k | $164k (exactly $163,745) | Rebellion, Xtended Realities | |
| | Medic: Pacific War | · EA | $9.99 | 143 70% | 4.3k | $43k (exactly $42,857) | Hypnotic Ants |
| | FEAR OF FAITH | · EA | $9.99 | 117 78% | 3.5k | $35k (exactly $35,065) | UNBREAKABLE ARK |
| | Quartermain and the Cult of Cthulhu | $2.99 | 92 95% | 2.8k | $8.3k (exactly $8,252) | ThePrinceOfMars | |
| | Bolsheviktion 3D | $4.88 | 44 93% | 1.3k | $6.4k (exactly $6,442) | Pelican Blue Software | |
| | Totenkampf : Anime Waifus vs WW2 Zombies | $3.99 | 28 85% | 840 | $3.4k (exactly $3,352) | Kawaii Kommando |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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