Do I ship it?

Games › Looter Shooter › Looter Shooter + Physics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Physics Looter Shooter?

Looter Shooter + Physics

Of 21 developers who shipped a Physics Looter 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.. 43 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420, ×0.3 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 43 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper, while revenue is up 290% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 290% on the market, 43 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Looter Shooter + Physics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $5.5k → $120 → $898 → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Looter Shooter + Physics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $419 (exactly $419)
Top 25% $5.5k (exactly $5,539)
Top 5% $35k (exactly $35,331)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 51
Announced 43
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.49

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 290% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Physics
effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Looter Shooter, Physics; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Destruction
Price point
$7.49 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.49.

The top 10 games average 74% positive over 490 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $420, 1 in 4 over $5.5k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. All of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 43 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Looter Shooter with a different second tag, 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

Ghosts of Tabor 2023 · EA · $6.9M REQUISITION VR 2023 · $235k Grim 2025 · $79k Deep Space Exploitation 2025 · $35k Ironsand 2026 · $32k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Ghosts of Tabor · EA older $24.99 9,140 70% 274k $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) Combat Waffle Studios
REQUISITION VR older $19.99 392 62% 12k $235k (exactly $235,082) Arcadia
Grim $19.99 131 53% 3.9k $79k (exactly $78,561) Spoonfed Interactive
Deep Space Exploitation $8.99 131 96% 3.9k $35k (exactly $35,331) JuhrJuhr
Ironsand $7.49 142 68% 4.3k $32k (exactly $31,907) Renderise
Bandit Trap $14.99 28 92% 840 $13k (exactly $12,592) PICOMY
PIZZA WESTERN 🍕 $29.99 10 90% 300 $9.0k (exactly $8,997) Lola Fisher
Ash & Adam's GOBSMACKED $4.99 37 86% 1.1k $5.5k (exactly $5,539) Ash & Adam's Games
SPL: Skilled Pilots Live · EA older $14.99 11 90% 330 $4.9k (exactly $4,947) Me Vs Game
Made in Ohio older $0.99 105 82% 3.2k $3.1k (exactly $3,118) TOPERUS
Starship Fighters: Space Combat Simulator · EA $24.99 2 0% 60 $1.5k (exactly $1,499) Hard Shark Games
Red Siren: Space Defense $14.99 2 50% 60 $899 (exactly $899) ISTOM Games
LeftUnknown · EA $5.99 5 80% 150 $898 (exactly $898) JustoGames
The Great Smog · EA $12.99 2 50% 60 $779 (exactly $779) JFi Games

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