Do I ship it?

Games › Hero Shooter › Hero Shooter + Space

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Space Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + Space

Of 26 developers who shipped a Space 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.. 25 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 9 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build. 14 developers shipped in the last year and 25 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 25 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + Space
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.3k → $178 → $599 → $90 → $0 → $899 → $239 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + Space: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $899 (exactly $899)
Top 5% $36k (exactly $35,986)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 99
Announced 25
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 up 45% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Space
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
9 / 10 · studio only
Systems
Hero Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Side Scroller
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 299 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 $240, 1 in 4 over $890, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 25 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Hero Shooter with a different setting or mood, 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

Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare 2016 · $31M Spin Rhythm XD 2023 · $2.3M TRIBES 3: Rivals 2024 · EA · $794k RIPOUT 2024 · $470k Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening 2025 · $89k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare older $59.99 17,489 65% 525k $31M (exactly $31,474,953) Infinity Ward
Spin Rhythm XD older $19.99 3,788 97% 114k $2.3M (exactly $2,271,664) Super Spin Digital
TRIBES 3: Rivals · EA older $19.99 1,324 61% 40k $794k (exactly $794,003) Prophecy Games
RIPOUT older $19.99 783 65% 23k $470k (exactly $469,565) Pet Project Games
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
Operation Night Strikers $24.99 48 77% 1.4k $36k (exactly $35,986) M2 Co., Ltd.
Precursors older $14.99 72 76% 2.2k $32k (exactly $32,378) Deep Shadows
METAL SUITS: Counter-attack $9.99 71 77% 2.1k $21k (exactly $21,279) Gonggamore Contents
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
SorcerialBladeCannon $12.99 6 66% 180 $2.3k (exactly $2,338) MACHINECODE
Astranded $14.99 2 50% 60 $899 (exactly $899) Tim S.
Red Siren: Space Defense $14.99 2 50% 60 $899 (exactly $899) ISTOM Games
Intergalactic Cleaning Squad $4.99 5 80% 150 $748 (exactly $748) Rigid Games
COSMIC WARFRONT $1.99 10 100% 300 $597 (exactly $597) Gamesforfarm
Boom Buddies $2.99 5 100% 150 $449 (exactly $449) Alice Games

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