Do I ship it?

GamesLootLoot + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Loot Shoot 'Em Up?

Loot + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 40 developers who shipped a Loot 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.. 52 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.6k, ×5.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $650k, ×1044 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 52 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 52 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Loot + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 40
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.3k → $599 → $7.9k → $5.4k → $899 → $3.9k → $3.7k (still earning) → $81k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Loot + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 40
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $3.6k (exactly $3,593)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $15,820)
Top 5% $656k (exactly $655,910)
Developers, 2 yr 40
Released games 109
Announced 52
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 85% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Loot
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Loot, Shoot 'Em Up; all of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 7,188 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $3.6k, 1 in 4 over $15k, 1 in 20 over $650k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Loot with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceStrong odds28 devs · median $19k · 22 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpStrong odds22 devs · median $7.3k · 21 announced
  3. + SteampunkStrong odds7 devs · median $2.2k · 10 announced
  4. + CapitalismFair36 devs · median $14k · 52 announced
  5. + Turn-Based StrategyFair86 devs · median $6.3k · 97 announced
  6. + JRPGFair34 devs · median $5.5k · 41 announced
  7. + EconomyFair74 devs · median $4.6k · 114 announced
  8. + IdlerFair181 devs · median $4.5k · 256 announced
  9. + CatsFair17 devs · median $3.4k · 24 announced
  10. + IncrementalFair145 devs · median $2.9k · 236 announced
  11. + Creature CollectorFair51 devs · median $2.9k · 67 announced
  12. + CollectathonFair90 devs · median $1.9k · 95 announced

All 159 pairs on the Loot page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program $14.99 2,727 76% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) WarmCore Studio
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank older $14.99 1,890 95% 57k $850k (exactly $849,933) Snoozy Kazoo
I Am Legion: Stand Survivors $8.99 2,432 82% 73k $656k (exactly $655,910) JA Game Studio
Reality Break $24.99 683 80% 20k $512k (exactly $512,045) Element Games, LLC
Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded older $4.99 2,517 92% 76k $377k (exactly $376,795) Sigma Team Inc.
Space Scavenger older $12.99 289 86% 8.7k $113k (exactly $112,623) Red Cabin Games
Demon Hunt · EA $6.99 460 77% 14k $96k (exactly $96,462) Massive Hug
Ether Loop older $11.99 261 68% 7.8k $94k (exactly $93,882) Moon Lens
Soulforge Lost Path $8.99 302 69% 9.1k $81k (exactly $81,449) Ziyue
Void Scrappers older $3.99 571 89% 17k $68k (exactly $68,349) 8BitSkull
Don't Die, Collect Loot · EA $9.99 161 91% 4.8k $48k (exactly $48,252) Dan Marchand
Zombie Rollerz: The Last Ship $9.99 139 75% 4.2k $42k (exactly $41,658) Zing Games Inc., 紫英互娱
Zombiehood $9.99 132 86% 4.0k $40k (exactly $39,560) Weak Spots, Dead Traveler
SCAD · EA $7.99 86 76% 2.6k $21k (exactly $20,614) NAISU
Combat Complex · EA $7.99 66 81% 2.0k $16k (exactly $15,820) Spherical Horse Studios

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