Do I ship it?

Games › Looter Shooter › Looter Shooter + Futuristic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Futuristic Looter Shooter?

Looter Shooter + Futuristic

Of 38 developers who shipped a Futuristic Looter Shooter 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.. 82 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. 82 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper, while revenue is down 15% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 15% on the market, 82 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Looter Shooter + Futuristic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 38
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $898 → $150 → $1.1k → $150 → $35k → $537 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Looter Shooter + Futuristic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 38
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $9.4k (exactly $9,418)
Top 5% $622k (exactly $622,198)
Developers, 2 yr 38
Released games 100
Announced 82
Effort 8 / 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 down 15% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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.

Looter Shooter
effort 8 / 10 · low · online co-op and a loot economy on top of a shooter
Futuristic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Looter Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 61% positive over 63,113 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $600, 1 in 4 over $9.4k, 1 in 20 over $620k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 8 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 82 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Looter Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MechsFair13 devs · median $219k · 14 announced
  2. + Vehicular CombatFair11 devs · median $15k · 14 announced
  3. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  4. + 3D PlatformerLong shot23 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds31 devs · median $71k · 73 announced
  6. + Online Co-OpPoor odds54 devs · median $25k · 136 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds56 devs · median $25k · 124 announced
  8. + Twin Stick ShooterPoor odds18 devs · median $16k · 44 announced
  9. + DystopianPoor odds14 devs · median $10k · 45 announced
  10. + Base BuildingPoor odds36 devs · median $9.1k · 74 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds50 devs · median $9.0k · 151 announced
  12. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds27 devs · median $6.9k · 61 announced

All 90 pairs on the Looter Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Borderlands 4 2025 · $122M ROBOBEAT 2024 · $1.0M Endless Alice 2025 · EA · $622k Granvir 2025 · $379k Heat Death: Survival Train 2024 · EA · $255k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Borderlands 4 $69.99 57,874 59% 1.7M $122M (exactly $121,518,038) Gearbox Software
ROBOBEAT older $19.99 1,708 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,024,288) Simon Fredholm
Endless Alice · EA $8.99 2,307 91% 69k $622k (exactly $622,198) HowlingRain, 台灣響雨互娛, 響雨@OSAKA
Granvir $14.99 842 90% 25k $379k (exactly $378,647) Airborne Games
Heat Death: Survival Train · EA $11.99 709 77% 21k $255k (exactly $255,027) Mass Game Devs
LIFE EFFECT Survival · EA $14.99 488 85% 15k $219k (exactly $219,454) LIFE EFFECT
RIG Riot $19.99 195 94% 5.9k $117k (exactly $116,941) Sage Boatman
Keep Her Safe · EA $9.99 382 97% 11k $114k (exactly $114,485) Gugu Studio
Dreadhunter · EA older $24.99 141 77% 4.2k $106k (exactly $105,708) Trickster Arts
Cyber Avenger older $12.99 131 87% 3.9k $51k (exactly $51,051) Quacky Games
Shell Runner $14.99 80 57% 2.4k $36k (exactly $35,976) Reija
Deep Space Exploitation $8.99 131 96% 3.9k $35k (exactly $35,331) JuhrJuhr
Future Breach 64 $2.99 105 86% 3.2k $9.4k (exactly $9,418) Yurii Nikshych

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