Do I ship it?

GamesLootLoot + Heist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Heist Loot game?

Loot + Heist

Only 16 developers shipped a Heist Loot game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Burglin' Gnomes, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 53 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.4k, ×3.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $1.3M, ×2212 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 53 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 53 announced, ×4.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Loot + Heist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $271k → $2.4k → $4.8k → $20k (still earning) → $480 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Loot + Heist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $2.4k (exactly $2,397)
Top 25% $70k (exactly $70,153)
Top 5% $1.4M (exactly $1,389,110)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 51
Announced 53
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 down 35% on the market, supply 120% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Heist
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Loot; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, First-Person, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 6,429 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $2.4k, 1 in 4 over $70k, 1 in 20 over $1.3M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds28 devs · median $19k · 22 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  3. + SteampunkStrong odds7 devs · median $2.2k · 10 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair36 devs · median $14k · 52 announced
  5. + Turn-Based StrategyFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  6. + JRPGFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  7. + EconomyFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  8. + IdlerFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  9. + CatsFair17 devs · median $3.4k · 24 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  11. + Creature CollectorFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair90 devs · median $1.9k · 95 announced

All 159 pairs on the Loot page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine older $14.99 3,756 92% 113k $1.7M (exactly $1,689,073) Pocketwatch Games
Burglin' Gnomes $9.99 4,635 83% 139k $1.4M (exactly $1,389,110) Fobri
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank older $14.99 1,890 95% 57k $850k (exactly $849,933) Snoozy Kazoo
Robber Knight · EA older $39.99 284 64% 8.5k $341k (exactly $340,715) Sartorian
Raw Metal older $19.99 452 88% 14k $271k (exactly $271,064) Team Crucible
The Masterplan older $19.99 374 62% 11k $224k (exactly $224,288) Shark Punch
Thick As Thieves $4.99 1,106 65% 33k $166k (exactly $165,568) OtherSide Entertainment
Gone Rogue older $14.99 282 87% 8.5k $127k (exactly $126,815) AskaLot Games
Midnight Heist $9.99 389 92% 12k $117k (exactly $116,583) MediaTale
Monaco 2 $14.99 156 63% 4.7k $70k (exactly $70,153) Pocketwatch Games
Burgle Supply Company $7.99 85 88% 2.6k $20k (exactly $20,374) Terrible Posture Games
Storage Looter $7.99 20 100% 600 $4.8k (exactly $4,794) Tekila
Loot Gobblin' Together $7.99 20 90% 600 $4.8k (exactly $4,794) J6 Games
Mall Heist $7.99 10 100% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) Evlnu GameWorks
Cloak And Coin · EA $4.99 6 100% 180 $898 (exactly $898) netDOT
Sneaky Tail · EA $8.00 2 100% 60 $480 (exactly $480) PisiPisi Games

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