Do I ship it?

GamesLootLoot + Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Loot Twin Stick Shooter?

Loot + Twin Stick Shooter

Of 24 developers who shipped a Loot Twin Stick 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.. 62 more are announced, ×5.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $5.4k, ×8.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $990; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×184 the market median. Revenue is up 175% on the market; 62 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 8.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 175% on the market, 62 announced, ×5.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Loot + Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $479 → $8.6k → $5.4k → $1.8k → $20k → $21k (still earning) → $5.9k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Loot + Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $987 (exactly $987)
Median $5.4k (exactly $5,396)
Top 25% $41k (exactly $41,083)
Top 5% $115k (exactly $115,454)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 87
Announced 62
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 175% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Twin Stick Shooter
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, Twin Stick Shooter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, Action Roguelike
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 5,817 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $990, median $5.4k, 1 in 4 over $41k, 1 in 20 over $110k.

3 in 10 developers made under $990. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 62 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.2 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
Enter the Gungeon older $14.99 79,392 95% 2.4M $36M (exactly $35,702,582) Dodge Roll
Darksiders Genesis older $29.99 10,379 82% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) Airship Syndicate
Killsquad older $29.99 2,839 71% 85k $2.6M (exactly $2,554,248) Novarama
Nine Parchments older $19.99 4,123 77% 124k $2.5M (exactly $2,472,563) Frozenbyte
Hell Clock $19.99 3,535 82% 106k $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) Rogue Snail
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank older $14.99 1,890 95% 57k $850k (exactly $849,933) Snoozy Kazoo
Relic Hunters Legend $19.99 1,101 65% 33k $660k (exactly $660,270) Rogue Snail
Dust & Neon older $14.99 284 76% 8.5k $128k (exactly $127,715) David Marquardt Studios
Beat Blast older $10.99 387 89% 12k $128k (exactly $127,594) Woolly Walrus Games
Star Vortex · EA $24.99 154 84% 4.6k $115k (exactly $115,454) Zorg Games
MineGeon: Renegades $19.99 93 63% 2.8k $56k (exactly $55,772) Kickstone Studio
Survivor Mercs $9.99 147 70% 4.4k $44k (exactly $44,056) Wolpertinger Games
Vortica $14.99 93 83% 2.8k $42k (exactly $41,822) Vortical Studios
DUNGEON RAZE $2.99 458 85% 14k $41k (exactly $41,083) KOTARO YOSHIDA
SCAD · EA $7.99 86 76% 2.6k $21k (exactly $20,614) NAISU
Devil Jam $7.99 84 69% 2.5k $20k (exactly $20,135) Rogueside
Combat Complex · EA $7.99 66 81% 2.0k $16k (exactly $15,820) Spherical Horse Studios

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