Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Idler

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Idler Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Idler

Of 36 developers who shipped an Idler Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 14 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $630, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $240. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 14 games are announced against 27 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 70% on the market, 14 announced, ×0.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Idler
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $6.1k → $1.5k → $3.4k → $449 → $1.5k → $599 (still earning) → $807 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Idler: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $239 (exactly $239)
Median $628 (exactly $628)
Top 25% $3.7k (exactly $3,742)
Top 5% $20k (exactly $19,760)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 66
Announced 14
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 up 70% on the market, supply 200% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 6%, 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
Idler
effort 1 / 10 · high · number growth curves and a UI

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Shoot 'Em Up, Idler; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Bullet Hell, Strategy, Arcade
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $4.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

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

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 25,452 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $240, median $630, 1 in 4 over $3.7k, 1 in 20 over $19k.

3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 14 games are announced against 27 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. + Tower DefenseFair70 devs · median $599 · 54 announced
  7. + Resource ManagementFair26 devs · median $599 · 34 announced
  8. + ArcadeFair749 devs · median $419 · 783 announced
  9. + SwordplayLong shot13 devs · median $300 · 5 announced
  10. + MusicPoor odds12 devs · median $9.0k · 12 announced
  11. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $8.1k · 20 announced
  12. + Visual NovelPoor odds11 devs · median $5.8k · 12 announced

All 169 pairs on the Shoot 'Em Up page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

BALL x PIT 2025 · $11M KUNKUN Defender 2024 · $74k Vostok Inc. 2017 · $43k 天降锦鲤 ~ My Lucky Koi 2019 · $37k Dead Unending 2023 · $32k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BALL x PIT $14.99 24,714 95% 741k $11M (exactly $11,113,886) Kenny Sun and Friends
KUNKUN Defender older $2.99 822 97% 25k $74k (exactly $73,733) Seal
Vostok Inc. older $14.99 96 60% 2.9k $43k (exactly $43,171) Nosebleed Interactive
天降锦鲤 ~ My Lucky Koi older $4.99 245 93% 7.4k $37k (exactly $36,676) V.P. TEAM
Dead Unending older $9.99 108 41% 3.2k $32k (exactly $32,368) Tyler Hudson
Mining Survivors $4.99 132 74% 4.0k $20k (exactly $19,760) Wonderbounce Games
Abyss Horde $4.99 89 84% 2.7k $13k (exactly $13,323) Solo Gaming
Soba's Gunpaw $2.99 130 93% 3.9k $12k (exactly $11,661) Evrac Studio
Around The Core $3.99 95 86% 2.9k $11k (exactly $11,372) draftentropy
outpost4 $3.99 94 72% 2.8k $11k (exactly $11,252) BananaDogGames
Fire at Campsite $5.99 45 82% 1.4k $8.1k (exactly $8,086) Salvador Palma
Shoot The Barrels $1.99 103 72% 3.1k $6.1k (exactly $6,149) BATTLE LAB
NUMANUIN $4.99 25 92% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) Siberian Mouse
Swarm Survivor: Endless Siege $4.99 25 100% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) kamen

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