Do I ship it?

GamesHero ShooterHero Shooter + Physics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Physics Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + Physics

Of 27 developers who shipped a Physics 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.. 34 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×1.2 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $800k, ×596 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 34 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 34 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + Physics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 27
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $30 → $299 → $6.6k → $34k → $5.4k → $659 (still earning) → $21k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + Physics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 27
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,574)
Top 25% $21k (exactly $20,760)
Top 5% $803k (exactly $802,599)
Developers, 2 yr 27
Released games 77
Announced 34
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 50% on the market, supply 45% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Physics
effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter, Physics; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Combat
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, VR, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 6,490 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $20k, 1 in 20 over $800k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 7 in 10 of the 12 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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. + AliensPoor odds18 devs · median $1.0k · 25 announced

All 87 pairs on the Hero Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Battlefield™ 2042 older $59.99 260,308 49% 7.8M $468M (exactly $468,476,308) DICE
Crysis 3 Remastered older $29.99 7,731 88% 232k $7.0M (exactly $6,955,581) Crytek, Saber Interactive
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap $29.99 4,053 69% 122k $3.6M (exactly $3,646,484) Robot Entertainment
Arken Age $39.99 669 90% 20k $803k (exactly $802,599) VitruviusVR
TRIBES 3: Rivals · EA older $19.99 1,324 61% 40k $794k (exactly $794,003) Prophecy Games
IRON REBELLION $24.99 772 84% 23k $579k (exactly $578,768) Black Beach Studio
The Living Remain $19.99 289 79% 8.7k $173k (exactly $173,313) Five Finger Studios
illWill older $19.99 279 91% 8.4k $167k (exactly $167,316) Slava Bushuev
Birds of War $9.99 439 87% 13k $132k (exactly $131,568) HexNest Games
Heroic Armored Company · EA older $16.99 185 56% 5.6k $94k (exactly $94,294) Magicvalley Studio(魔法谷工作室)
KILLDOZER · EA $19.99 57 78% 1.7k $34k (exactly $34,183) Rename For Value
Deadliest Pigeon $6.99 99 93% 3.0k $21k (exactly $20,760) Rusty Rex
CPU Invaders - 3i Atlas $4.99 77 98% 2.3k $12k (exactly $11,527) Microblast Games
Prison Escape Simulator $9.99 18 77% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) PEGAX Studios
Just Skill Shooter 4 $9.99 17 76% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Gamesforgames

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