Do I ship it?

GamesLooter ShooterLooter Shooter + Mystery

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Mystery Looter Shooter?

Looter Shooter + Mystery

Only 11 developers shipped a Mystery Looter Shooter 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, Dustland, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 16 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build. 5 developers shipped in the last year and 16 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 45% on the market, 16 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Looter Shooter + Mystery
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: $239 → $4.8k → $480
Outcomes for Looter Shooter + Mystery: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $1.1k (exactly $1,079)
Top 5% $69k (exactly $68,970)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 29
Announced 16
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 45% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 21%, 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.

Looter Shooter
effort 8 / 10 · low · online co-op and a loot economy on top of a shooter
Mystery
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Looter Shooter
Price point
$6.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 133 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.0k, 1 in 20 over $68k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Looter Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + MechsFair13 devs · median $219k · 14 announced
  2. + Vehicular CombatFair11 devs · median $15k · 14 announced
  3. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  4. + 3D PlatformerLong shot23 devs · median $449 · 16 announced
  5. + Extraction ShooterPoor odds31 devs · median $71k · 73 announced
  6. + Online Co-OpPoor odds54 devs · median $25k · 136 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds56 devs · median $25k · 124 announced
  8. + Twin Stick ShooterPoor odds18 devs · median $16k · 44 announced
  9. + DystopianPoor odds14 devs · median $10k · 45 announced
  10. + Base BuildingPoor odds36 devs · median $9.1k · 74 announced
  11. + Character CustomizationPoor odds50 devs · median $9.0k · 151 announced
  12. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds27 devs · median $6.9k · 61 announced

All 90 pairs on the Looter Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dustland · EA $22.99 100 69% 3.0k $69k (exactly $68,970) RedPad Games
Cave Digger 2 Dig Harder older $15.99 81 88% 2.4k $39k (exactly $38,856) VRKiwi
Gloomy Village older $4.99 46 58% 1.4k $6.9k (exactly $6,886) Sancta Maledicta
The Frost Rebirth · EA older $12.99 15 20% 450 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Tephra Company
Darker Skies: Remastered for PC older $11.99 16 68% 480 $5.8k (exactly $5,755) Steel Arts Software Ltd.
INVISIBLE FLOW $9.99 16 81% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) DOGHADHOUSE
Yoli older $1.99 27 100% 810 $1.6k (exactly $1,612) Old School Vibes
Welcome to the Polyverse older $9.99 4 75% 120 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) Revmatek
Qume: Echoes of Sand $8.99 4 0% 120 $1.1k (exactly $1,079) Abyscon
Doors and Doors - Mr. Frog older $4.99 6 50% 180 $898 (exactly $898) UMTI
AWAKE $15.99 1 100% 30 $480 (exactly $480) REZA ALIDAD
Death Row Escape $2.00 6 100% 180 $360 (exactly $360) SE Games Studio
Final District $9.99 1 100% 30 $300 (exactly $300) Owlfig Games
DOCE $3.99 2 0% 60 $239 (exactly $239) SAHKIL STUDIO
Code-Black · EA $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Plague Doctor Studios
S K Y R I S E · EA $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Lex Sosa
Cascadence $2.99 1 100% 30 $90 (exactly $90) proxaCor

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