Games › Looter Shooter › Looter Shooter + Open World
Should I ship a Looter Shooter Open World game?
Looter Shooter + Open World
Of 57 developers who shipped a Looter Shooter Open World game 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.. 122 more are announced, ×3.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $4.8k, ×3.2 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $8.6M, ×5756 the market median. Revenue is up 30% on the market; 122 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) |
| Top 25% | $68k (exactly $68,002) |
| Top 5% | $8.6M (exactly $8,622,487) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 57 |
| Released games | 169 |
| Announced | 122 |
| Effort | 8 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 30% on the market, supply 50% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Open World
- effort 8 / 10 · low · effort 8 sits in the low band
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Looter Shooter, Open World; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Shooter
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 68% positive over 112,737 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 7 in 10 of the 26 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 122 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.6 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Looter Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + MechsFair
- + Vehicular CombatFair
- + IdlerFair
- + 3D PlatformerLong shot
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Twin Stick ShooterPoor odds
- + DystopianPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
- + Character CustomizationPoor odds
- + Inventory ManagementPoor odds
Comparable games
Borderlands 3 2020 · $230M 
Borderlands 2 2012 · $126M 
Borderlands 4 2025 · $122M 
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Breakpoint 2023 · $80M 
Tom Clancy’s The Division™ 2016 · $69M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Borderlands 3 | older | $59.99 | 127,847 81% | 3.8M | $230M (exactly $230,086,246) | Gearbox Software |
| | Borderlands 2 | older | $19.99 | 210,364 89% | 6.3M | $126M (exactly $126,155,291) | Gearbox Software, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (L… (Gearbox Software, Aspyr (Mac), Aspyr (Linux)) |
| | Borderlands 4 | $69.99 | 57,874 59% | 1.7M | $122M (exactly $121,518,038) | Gearbox Software | |
| | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Breakpoint | older | $59.99 | 44,635 72% | 1.3M | $80M (exactly $80,329,610) | Ubisoft Paris |
| | Tom Clancy’s The Division™ | older | $29.99 | 76,985 72% | 2.3M | $69M (exactly $69,263,404) | Massive Entertainment |
 | Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel | older | $39.99 | 31,771 79% | 953k | $38M (exactly $38,115,669) | 2K Australia, Gearbox Software, Aspyr (… (2K Australia, Gearbox Software, Aspyr (Linux)) |
 | Tom Clancy’s The Division® 2 | older | $29.99 | 32,600 79% | 978k | $29M (exactly $29,330,220) | Ubisoft |
 | OUTRIDERS | older | $19.99 | 46,146 66% | 1.4M | $28M (exactly $27,673,756) | People Can Fly |
 | Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League | older | $69.99 | 12,718 60% | 382k | $27M (exactly $26,703,985) | Rocksteady Studios |
 | Deadside | $24.99 | 34,560 76% | 1.0M | $26M (exactly $25,909,632) | Bad Pixel | |
 | ZERO Sievert | $19.99 | 14,378 84% | 431k | $8.6M (exactly $8,622,487) | CABO Studio | |
 | PIONER | · EA | $29.99 | 3,205 62% | 96k | $2.9M (exactly $2,883,538) | GFAGAMES |
 | Heat Death: Survival Train | · EA | $11.99 | 709 77% | 21k | $255k (exactly $255,027) | Mass Game Devs |
 | Nuclear Epoch | $14.99 | 487 78% | 15k | $219k (exactly $219,004) | Cat Play Studio | |
 | Soul's Chronicle: Immortal Slayer | $14.99 | 441 77% | 13k | $198k (exactly $198,318) | 正向星光工作室 | |
 | Tankenstein | · EA | $17.99 | 238 89% | 7.1k | $128k (exactly $128,449) | Landship Games LTD |
 | Afterinfection | $8.99 | 463 56% | 14k | $125k (exactly $124,871) | RePatrick21 | |
 | Keep Her Safe | · EA | $9.99 | 382 97% | 11k | $114k (exactly $114,485) | Gugu Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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