Do I ship it?

Games › Looter Shooter › Looter Shooter + Strategy

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Strategy Looter Shooter?

Looter Shooter + Strategy

Of 60 developers who shipped a Strategy 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.. 70 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 8 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build. 34 developers shipped in the last year and 70 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 1185% on the market, 70 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Looter Shooter + Strategy
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 60
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.7k → $713 → $299 → $239 → $90 → $2.4k → $345 (still earning) → $60 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Looter Shooter + Strategy: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 60
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,778)
Top 5% $2.9M (exactly $2,880,839)
Developers, 2 yr 60
Released games 141
Announced 70
Effort 8 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 1185% on the market, supply 30% more 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
Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
8 / 10 · online systems, open world
Systems
Looter Shooter, Strategy; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Shooter
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 26,570 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $360, 1 in 4 over $3.7k, 1 in 20 over $2.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 70 games are announced against 34 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 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

PAYDAY 2 2013 · $134M Outpost: Infinity Siege 2024 · $8.7M ZERO Sievert 2024 · $8.6M Wildgate 2025 · $4.5M Pax Autocratica 2026 · EA · $2.9M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
PAYDAY 2 older $9.99 445,531 89% 13M $134M (exactly $133,525,641) OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio., Sidetr… (OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio., Sidetrack Games)
Outpost: Infinity Siege older $24.99 11,636 65% 349k $8.7M (exactly $8,723,509) Team Ranger
ZERO Sievert $19.99 14,378 84% 431k $8.6M (exactly $8,622,487) CABO Studio
Wildgate $29.99 5,032 77% 151k $4.5M (exactly $4,527,290) Moonshot Games
Pax Autocratica · EA $29.99 3,202 91% 96k $2.9M (exactly $2,880,839) Multiverse
Pass the Fear $18.99 2,985 79% 90k $1.7M (exactly $1,700,554) PlayMud Studio
Last Group Out older $9.99 566 81% 17k $170k (exactly $169,630) Woodland Development
The Last Survivors Harem $9.99 290 82% 8.7k $87k (exactly $86,913) Survival Strategy ！
Atomic Exile · EA $14.99 120 79% 3.6k $54k (exactly $53,964) Inferno Muse Interactive
Evolve or Die $4.99 252 98% 7.6k $38k (exactly $37,724) Seal
Thunder Tank: Iron Shield $3.99 221 82% 6.6k $26k (exactly $26,454) Crazy Studio
Catharage $9.99 62 82% 1.9k $19k (exactly $18,581) Björn Michalski
Bandit Trap $14.99 28 92% 840 $13k (exactly $12,592) PICOMY

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