Do I ship it?

Games › Hero Shooter › Hero Shooter + PvE

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a PvE Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + PvE

Of 49 developers who shipped a PvE 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.. 98 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $600, ×0.4 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90. 98 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper, while revenue is down 10% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 98 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + PvE
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 49
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $570 → $1.3k → $4.5k → $807 → $600 → $300 (still earning) → $3.6k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + PvE: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 49
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $7.2k (exactly $7,193)
Top 5% $803k (exactly $802,599)
Developers, 2 yr 49
Released games 182
Announced 98
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 down 10% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 24%, 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
PvE
effort 6 / 10 · low · online co-op against AI still needs the whole netcode stack

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter, PvE; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Online Co-Op
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 53,984 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $800k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 7 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 98 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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. + 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

Marathon 2026 · $54M Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ 2020 · $14M Crysis 2 Remastered 2022 · $8.1M Crysis 3 Remastered 2022 · $7.0M Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap 2025 · $3.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville™ older $29.99 15,372 71% 461k $14M (exactly $13,830,188) PopCap
Crysis 2 Remastered older $29.99 9,034 89% 271k $8.1M (exactly $8,127,890) Crytek, Saber Interactive
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
Deceive Inc. older $19.99 4,755 84% 143k $2.9M (exactly $2,851,574) Sweet Bandits Studios
Arken Age $39.99 669 90% 20k $803k (exactly $802,599) VitruviusVR
Neighbors: Suburban Warfare · EA $9.99 1,906 66% 57k $571k (exactly $571,228) Invisible Walls
RIPOUT older $19.99 783 65% 23k $470k (exactly $469,565) Pet Project Games
Fursan al-Aqsa: The Knights of the Al-Aqsa Mosque older $14.99 930 96% 28k $418k (exactly $418,221) Nidal Nijm Games
Serious Sam: Shatterverse $19.99 648 50% 19k $389k (exactly $388,606) Behaviour Interactive Inc.
Kvark $19.99 461 86% 14k $276k (exactly $276,462) Latest Past, Perun Creative
Warden's Will $14.99 304 70% 9.1k $137k (exactly $136,709) ELYZIO
Last Flag $4.99 576 73% 17k $86k (exactly $86,227) Night Street Games
Iron Core: Mech Survivor $6.99 352 73% 11k $74k (exactly $73,814) Soda Game Studio
Cowboy 3030 $14.99 96 87% 2.9k $43k (exactly $43,171) Soy Boy Games

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