Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Hidden Object

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Hidden Object Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Hidden Object

Only 11 developers shipped a Hidden Object Shoot 'Em Up in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, DA PAPER BOY, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 7 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 7 developers shipped in the last year and 7 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 7 announced, ×1.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Hidden Object
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $78k → $564 → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Hidden Object: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $180 (exactly $180)
Top 25% $564 (exactly $564)
Top 5% $1.3k (exactly $1,319)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 38
Announced 7
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Hidden Object
effort 2 / 10 · high · static scenes with click targets

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Shoot 'Em Up, Hidden Object
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 8 games average 83% positive over 49 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 $180, 1 in 4 over $560, 1 in 20 over $1.3k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 7 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shoot 'Em Up with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FaithFair13 devs · median $17k · 13 announced
  2. + RomanceFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  4. + Quick-Time EventsFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair39 devs · median $628 · 36 announced
  6. + IdlerFair36 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  7. + Tower DefenseFair70 devs · median $599 · 54 announced
  8. + Resource ManagementFair26 devs · median $599 · 34 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair749 devs · median $419 · 783 announced
  10. + SwordplayLong shot13 devs · median $300 · 5 announced
  11. + MusicPoor odds12 devs · median $9.0k · 12 announced
  12. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $8.1k · 20 announced

All 169 pairs on the Shoot 'Em Up page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Disassembly 3D 2017 · $278k Disassembly VR 2019 · $141k Grab and Guts 2024 · $78k Wrong Bullet 2024 · $76k Space Survival 2016 · $15k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Disassembly 3D older $29.99 309 81% 9.3k $278k (exactly $278,007) Khor Chin Heong
Disassembly VR older $29.99 157 59% 4.7k $141k (exactly $141,253) Khor Chin Heong
Grab and Guts older $29.99 87 94% 2.6k $78k (exactly $78,274) Galactic Geckon
Wrong Bullet older $29.99 84 89% 2.5k $76k (exactly $75,575) Galactic Geckon
Space Survival older $4.99 103 48% 3.1k $15k (exactly $15,419) UltraShock Gaming LLC, Killbox Graphics
Oik Memory older $0.99 243 86% 7.3k $7.2k (exactly $7,217) Crew Lab
Last Escape older $4.99 46 67% 1.4k $6.9k (exactly $6,886) Fasu Studio
HUNTERS FOR YOUR BRAIN older $4.99 28 71% 840 $4.2k (exactly $4,192) REANIMATO.RUS
Active Mummy older $4.99 22 81% 660 $3.3k (exactly $3,293) RENFALC
Slime Village VR older $9.99 9 88% 270 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) Piece Of Voxel
DA PAPER BOY $10.99 4 75% 120 $1.3k (exactly $1,319) 3D Dojo Studios
Lost Soul of the Missing Island $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) CDIS Lab.
The Island of Thugs $0.99 19 78% 570 $564 (exactly $564) Big Green Platypus
Hard as Hell $0.99 14 85% 420 $416 (exactly $416) L4S Games, KAPPIRE
Invasion 2 $9.99 1 100% 30 $300 (exactly $300) CDIS Lab.
SpyGuys $2.99 3 66% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Olly
Peekablock · EA $5.99 1 100% 30 $180 (exactly $180) Goose Gang Games
Ark of Isolation $0.99 5 100% 150 $148 (exactly $148) TeddyBeer
Slightly Overweight Superhero and the seven levels of death $8.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Nathan Laird
Batya in the Building: 10 Years Later $1.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) DillyFrame

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