Do I ship it?

Games › Looter Shooter › Looter Shooter + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Looter Shooter?

Looter Shooter + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 71 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 79 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 $240 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build. 36 developers shipped in the last year and 79 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 100% on the market, 79 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Looter Shooter + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 71
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $989 → $300 → $539 → $90 → $297 → $179 (still earning) → $628 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Looter Shooter + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 71
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,918)
Top 5% $50k (exactly $50,358)
Developers, 2 yr 71
Released games 185
Announced 79
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 100% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Shoot 'Em Up
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, Shoot 'Em Up; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action RPG
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 4,050 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 $240, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $50k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. Nearly all of the 40 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 79 games are announced against 36 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

After the Fall® 2021 · $1.5M R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program 2026 · $1.2M DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION 2023 · $1.1M ROBOBEAT 2024 · $1.0M Reality Break 2025 · $512k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
After the Fall® older $19.99 2,572 76% 77k $1.5M (exactly $1,542,428) Vertigo Games
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program $14.99 2,727 76% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) WarmCore Studio
DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION older $2.99 12,437 94% 373k $1.1M (exactly $1,115,599) Agafonoff
ROBOBEAT older $19.99 1,708 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,024,288) Simon Fredholm
Reality Break $24.99 683 80% 20k $512k (exactly $512,045) Element Games, LLC
Alien Shooter 2 - The Legend older $14.99 1,087 52% 33k $489k (exactly $488,824) Sigma Team Inc.
Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded older $4.99 2,517 92% 76k $377k (exactly $376,795) Sigma Team Inc.
Black Gunner Wukong older $9.99 417 98% 13k $125k (exactly $124,975) Wukong
Power of Ten older $11.99 248 79% 7.4k $89k (exactly $89,206) Pew Times Three
Soulforge Lost Path $8.99 302 69% 9.1k $81k (exactly $81,449) Ziyue
Schism $11.99 140 96% 4.2k $50k (exactly $50,358) Fami
Combat Complex · EA $7.99 66 81% 2.0k $16k (exactly $15,820) Spherical Horse Studios
Deadtime Defenders $9.99 48 79% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,386) Arcane Embers
Mecha Harem: Bonds of the Abyss $9.99 34 73% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) Morexingame
PIZZA WESTERN 🍕 $29.99 10 90% 300 $9.0k (exactly $8,997) Lola Fisher
Just Skill Shooter: Catacombs $9.99 17 64% 510 $5.1k (exactly $5,095) Gamesforgames
ZEROAD $6.99 23 95% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) DrillMind

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