Do I ship it?

Games › Hero Shooter › Hero Shooter + Looter Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Looter Shooter Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + Looter Shooter

Of 25 developers who shipped a Looter Shooter Hero 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.. 55 more are announced, ×5.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $150 in the last 2 years and $150 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build. 10 developers shipped in the last year and 55 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 55 announced, ×5.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + Looter Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 25
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.1k → $599 → $958 → $360 → $150 → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + Looter Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 25
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $899 (exactly $899)
Top 5% $5.1k (exactly $5,095)
Developers, 2 yr 25
Released games 95
Announced 55
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 10% on the market, supply 35% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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.

Hero Shooter
effort 9 / 10 · low · competitive netcode plus hero balance and content cadence
Looter Shooter
effort 8 / 10 · low · online co-op and a loot economy on top of a shooter

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter, Looter Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 67% positive over 167 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 $150, 1 in 4 over $890, 1 in 20 over $5.0k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hero Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SimulationLong shot31 devs · median $478 · 28 announced
  2. + Bullet HellLong shot59 devs · median $449 · 56 announced
  3. + Boomer ShooterLong shot30 devs · median $210 · 21 announced
  4. + MedievalLong shot10 devs · median $150 · 12 announced
  5. + Online Co-OpPoor odds20 devs · median $7.2k · 51 announced
  6. + SuperheroPoor odds6 devs · median $6.3k · 11 announced
  7. + Battle RoyalePoor odds9 devs · median $3.6k · 29 announced
  8. + Co-opPoor odds22 devs · median $3.6k · 53 announced
  9. + PvPPoor odds27 devs · median $2.3k · 127 announced
  10. + PlatformerPoor odds21 devs · median $2.2k · 33 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds25 devs · median $2.1k · 68 announced
  12. + PhysicsPoor odds27 devs · median $1.6k · 34 announced

All 87 pairs on the Hero Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Black Gunner Wukong 2024 · $125k Avium 2024 · $23k Ghostship Chronicles 2020 · $15k Rocket Squad: Infinity 2025 · $14k Random Heroes: Gold Edition 2020 · $13k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Black Gunner Wukong older $9.99 417 98% 13k $125k (exactly $124,975) Wukong
Avium older $29.99 26 76% 780 $23k (exactly $23,392) The Robot
Ghostship Chronicles older $24.99 20 55% 600 $15k (exactly $14,994) Shaun T Williams
Rocket Squad: Infinity $14.99 31 22% 930 $14k (exactly $13,941) Jackto Studios
Random Heroes: Gold Edition older $4.99 86 69% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,874) Woblyware, Somepx
Witch The Bloodlines older $14.99 27 40% 810 $12k (exactly $12,142) Kerim Kumbasar
Bankrupt Heroines older $1.99 147 91% 4.4k $8.8k (exactly $8,776) TTeokLeaf
ATTACK OF THE EVIL POOP older $7.99 30 86% 900 $7.2k (exactly $7,191) AN Games
Don't Crash - The Political Game older $1.99 100 95% 3.0k $6.0k (exactly $5,970) Tegridy Made Games
Just Skill Shooter: Catacombs $9.99 17 64% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Gamesforgames
Lycoris $9.99 15 33% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Miki Games
Cyborg: Rise $7.99 13 92% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) fish world
Hunt Zombies Together $0.99 69 86% 2.1k $2.0k (exactly $2,049) cnsgames
Rip & Tear $4.90 10 70% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,470) CJ
Red Siren: Space Defense $14.99 2 50% 60 $899 (exactly $899) ISTOM Games
Shadow Survival · EA $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Celestial Knight Studios
Remnants Of Eden $14.99 1 100% 30 $450 (exactly $450) Red Sunset Productions
Death Row Escape $2.00 6 100% 180 $360 (exactly $360) SE Games Studio

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