Do I ship it?

Games › Hero Shooter › Hero Shooter + Survival

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Survival Hero Shooter?

Hero Shooter + Survival

Of 31 developers who shipped a Survival 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.. 46 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×0.7 the market's $1.3k for a 9 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270. 46 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 10% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 46 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Hero Shooter + Survival
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $179 → $179 → $836 → $300 → $1.9k → $1.5k → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Hero Shooter + Survival: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $269 (exactly $269)
Median $899 (exactly $899)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,409)
Top 5% $173k (exactly $173,313)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 180
Announced 46
Effort 9 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $9.99

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 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Survival
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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, Survival; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 45,398 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $270, median $900, 1 in 4 over $3.4k, 1 in 20 over $170k.

3 in 10 developers made under $270. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 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 Them and Us 2021 · $1.5M RIPOUT 2024 · $470k AXYOS 2018 · $244k BE-A Walker 2020 · $195k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Marathon $39.99 44,919 81% 1.3M $54M (exactly $53,889,324) Bungie
Them and Us older $39.99 1,216 76% 36k $1.5M (exactly $1,458,835) TendoGames Co., Ltd.
RIPOUT older $19.99 783 65% 23k $470k (exactly $469,565) Pet Project Games
AXYOS older $4.99 1,629 52% 49k $244k (exactly $243,861) Axyos Games
BE-A Walker older $9.99 651 72% 20k $195k (exactly $195,105) Tequilabyte Studio
The Living Remain $19.99 289 79% 8.7k $173k (exactly $173,313) Five Finger Studios
KUNKUN Defender older $2.99 822 97% 25k $74k (exactly $73,733) Seal
WILD SEX: WET GIRLS older $9.99 203 60% 6.1k $61k (exactly $60,839) Octo Games
HITLER: BDSM BUNKER older $9.99 164 81% 4.9k $49k (exactly $49,151) Adolf Games
Precursors older $14.99 72 76% 2.2k $32k (exactly $32,378) Deep Shadows
Harpagun $19.99 19 73% 570 $11k (exactly $11,394) Something Random
Deadrock Salvation $9.99 38 86% 1.1k $11k (exactly $11,389) Ghost Machine
Wasteland with Robots $9.99 34 94% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Gamesforgames
Prison Escape Simulator $9.99 18 77% 540 $5.4k (exactly $5,395) PEGAX Studios
Just Skill Shooter: Catacombs $9.99 17 64% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Gamesforgames
Cat Apocalypse · EA $9.99 15 93% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) Rocket Regios studios
Doom Survivor: Horde Rush $2.99 38 86% 1.1k $3.4k (exactly $3,409) Crazy Studio
VILOVEJETS $9.99 11 100% 330 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) Polka Studio

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