Do I ship it?

Games › Hero Shooter › Hero Shooter + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + Platformer

Of 21 developers who shipped a Platformer 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.. 33 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.6 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $21k, ×16 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 33 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 33 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $898 → $150 → $1.3k → $90 → $3.1k → $4.3k → $0 (still earning) → $4.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Top 25% $4.6k (exactly $4,554)
Top 5% $21k (exactly $21,279)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 100
Announced 33
Effort 9 / 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 up 80% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter, Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Arcade
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Side Scroller, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 444 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 $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $4.5k, 1 in 20 over $21k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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. + Character CustomizationPoor odds25 devs · median $2.1k · 68 announced
  11. + PhysicsPoor odds27 devs · median $1.6k · 34 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

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider 2023 · $249k Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening 2025 · $89k Planet Cube: Edge 2023 · $49k METAL SUITS: Counter-attack 2025 · $21k Deadliest Pigeon 2026 · $21k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider older $16.99 489 85% 15k $249k (exactly $249,243) JoyMasher
Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening $24.99 119 77% 3.6k $89k (exactly $89,214) Magic Pockets
Planet Cube: Edge older $14.99 110 90% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,467) Sunna Entertainment
METAL SUITS: Counter-attack $9.99 71 77% 2.1k $21k (exactly $21,279) Gonggamore Contents
Deadliest Pigeon $6.99 99 93% 3.0k $21k (exactly $20,760) Rusty Rex
Alien Strike: Blasting the Intruders $9.99 57 85% 1.7k $17k (exactly $17,083) Combo Game Studio
Bots City older $49.99 10 90% 300 $15k (exactly $14,997) Laush Dmitriy Sergeevich
Cosmos Bit older $4.99 97 86% 2.9k $15k (exactly $14,521) SEEP
Random Heroes: Gold Edition older $4.99 86 69% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,874) Woblyware, Somepx
Heat and Run · EA older $10.99 28 96% 840 $9.2k (exactly $9,232) DAMNATIO GAMES
Prison Escape Simulator $9.99 18 77% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) PEGAX Studios
Dirtnap · EA $7.99 19 84% 570 $4.6k (exactly $4,554) Unstable Entity, Part Time Monkey, Nitr… (Unstable Entity, Part Time Monkey, Nitroyale)
Dinopunk: the Cacops adventure $7.99 18 94% 540 $4.3k (exactly $4,315) The Dude Games
Maniac Path 3 $9.99 12 100% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Gamesforgames
Cyborg: Rise $7.99 13 92% 390 $3.1k (exactly $3,116) fish world
GUN.DOG.REVENGE $4.00 18 100% 540 $2.2k (exactly $2,160) MEWSTURBO

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