Do I ship it?

Games › Looter Shooter › Looter Shooter + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle Looter Shooter?

Looter Shooter + Puzzle

Only 12 developers shipped a Puzzle 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, The Memological Dungeon, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 11 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $330 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build. 5 developers shipped in the last year and 11 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 150% on the market, 11 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Looter Shooter + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.8k → $838 → $0 → $150 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Looter Shooter + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $330 (exactly $330)
Top 25% $390 (exactly $390)
Top 5% $980 (exactly $980)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 34
Announced 11
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $4.99

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 150% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Looter Shooter, Puzzle
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 8 games average 87% positive over 48 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $330, 1 in 4 over $390, 1 in 20 over $980.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 11 games are announced against 5 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 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

VLADiK BRUTAL 2024 · $3.4M Killing Time (Classic) 2016 · $31k Milf City 2021 · $19k Rotten Apple 2023 · $16k Random Heroes: Gold Edition 2020 · $13k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
VLADiK BRUTAL older $11.99 9,551 89% 287k $3.4M (exactly $3,435,495) BRUTAL SOFTWARE
Killing Time (Classic) older $9.99 103 71% 3.1k $31k (exactly $30,869) The 3DO Company
Milf City older $1.99 320 85% 9.6k $19k (exactly $19,104) Milk Poison
Rotten Apple older $14.99 36 83% 1.1k $16k (exactly $16,189) VRilliant Studios
Random Heroes: Gold Edition older $4.99 86 69% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,874) Woblyware, Somepx
FEAR background older $9.99 23 13% 690 $6.9k (exactly $6,893) 5K Gamers
Darker Skies: Remastered for PC older $11.99 16 68% 480 $5.8k (exactly $5,755) Steel Arts Software Ltd.
The Memological Dungeon $0.99 33 90% 990 $980 (exactly $980) Gamesforfarm
Doors and Doors - Mr. Frog older $4.99 6 50% 180 $898 (exactly $898) UMTI
Forgiveness older $3.99 7 85% 210 $838 (exactly $838) GAZ
Remnants Of Eden $14.99 1 100% 30 $450 (exactly $450) Red Sunset Productions
Ink Link $12.99 1 100% 30 $390 (exactly $390) Kokoa Interactive
Death Row Escape $2.00 6 100% 180 $360 (exactly $360) SE Games Studio
Ancient Archer $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Primitive Realms
Kepler 186F · EA $10.99 1 0% 30 $330 (exactly $330) Axiox Media Technology LTD
DOCE $3.99 2 0% 60 $239 (exactly $239) SAHKIL STUDIO
Cleanup Crew $4.99 1 100% 30 $150 (exactly $150) Team 3
Enosis $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Studio Platinwolf
ARO dangerous campaign $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Alexander Sevastianov

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