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Should I ship a Gun Customization Strategy game?
Gun Customization + Strategy
Of 65 developers who shipped a Gun Customization Strategy game 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.. 132 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450; 1 in 20 cleared $940k, ×1506 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 132 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $450 (exactly $450) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $12k (exactly $12,171) |
| Top 5% | $946k (exactly $945,719) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 65 |
| Released games | 176 |
| Announced | 132 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 80% on the market, supply 85% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Gun Customization
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Strategy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Gun Customization, Strategy; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 31,861 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $450. 6 in 10 of the 27 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 132 games are announced against 42 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Gun Customization with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + DystopianPoor odds
- + Immersive SimPoor odds
- + BuildingPoor odds
- + Survival HorrorPoor odds
- + ModernPoor odds
- + MilitaryPoor odds
- + StealthPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
- + Resource ManagementPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
PAYDAY 2 2013 · $134M 
GROUND BRANCH 2026 · $20M 
From the Depths 2020 · $8.3M 
SCP: 5K 2022 · EA · $7.4M 
OPERATOR 2023 · EA · $5.2M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | PAYDAY 2 | older | $9.99 | 445,531 89% | 13M | $134M (exactly $133,525,641) | OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio., Sidetr… (OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio., Sidetrack Games) |
| | GROUND BRANCH | $29.99 | 22,391 83% | 672k | $20M (exactly $20,145,183) | BlackFoot Studios, MicroProse Software | |
| | From the Depths | older | $24.99 | 11,059 89% | 332k | $8.3M (exactly $8,290,932) | Brilliant Skies Ltd. |
| | SCP: 5K | · EA older | $19.99 | 12,334 80% | 370k | $7.4M (exactly $7,396,700) | Affray Interactive |
| | OPERATOR | · EA older | $19.99 | 8,605 86% | 258k | $5.2M (exactly $5,160,418) | VECTOR INTERACTIVE PTY LTD |
 | 20 Minutes Till Dawn | older | $4.99 | 27,872 90% | 836k | $4.2M (exactly $4,172,438) | flanne |
 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier™ | older | $19.99 | 5,506 71% | 165k | $3.3M (exactly $3,301,948) | Ubisoft Paris, Red Storm Entertainment |
 | Pass the Fear | $18.99 | 2,985 79% | 90k | $1.7M (exactly $1,700,554) | PlayMud Studio | |
 | ERA ONE | · EA | $29.99 | 1,575 86% | 47k | $1.4M (exactly $1,417,028) | Team Complex LTD |
 | NavalArt | · EA older | $19.99 | 2,362 90% | 71k | $1.4M (exactly $1,416,491) | Rigidbody |
 | Wanderburg | · EA | $14.99 | 2,103 78% | 63k | $946k (exactly $945,719) | Randwerk |
 | Ratten Reich | $19.99 | 616 40% | 18k | $369k (exactly $369,415) | METALLADLERSTUDIO | |
 | They Killed Your Cat | $6.99 | 883 75% | 26k | $185k (exactly $185,165) | Vekaria | |
 | EXFIL | · EA | $19.99 | 302 67% | 9.1k | $181k (exactly $181,109) | Tiny Leviathan |
 | Ultimate Zombie Defense 2 | $9.99 | 589 76% | 18k | $177k (exactly $176,523) | Terror Dog Studio | |
 | Nightmare Frontier | $24.99 | 187 69% | 5.6k | $140k (exactly $140,194) | Ice Code Games | |
 | Welcome Back, Commander | $14.99 | 230 80% | 6.9k | $103k (exactly $103,431) | S.C. 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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