Do I ship it?

Games › Looter Shooter › Looter Shooter + Tactical

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Tactical Looter Shooter?

Looter Shooter + Tactical

Of 29 developers who shipped a Tactical 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.. 80 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $90; 1 in 20 cleared $19M, ×12838 the market median. Revenue is up 265% on the market; 80 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 265% on the market, 80 announced, ×5.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Looter Shooter + Tactical
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $4.2k → $5.1M → $1.1k → $7.2k → $2.3k → $3.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Looter Shooter + Tactical: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $1.7k (exactly $1,709)
Top 25% $7.9k (exactly $7,910)
Top 5% $19M (exactly $19,231,987)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 71
Announced 80
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 265% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 20%, 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
Tactical
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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, Tactical; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, PvE
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Stylized, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 54% positive over 81,185 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $1.7k, 1 in 4 over $7.9k, 1 in 20 over $19M.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 7 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 15 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 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

PAYDAY 2 2013 · $134M Escape from Tarkov 2025 · $84M Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® Breakpoint 2023 · $80M Tom Clancy’s The Division™ 2016 · $69M The Forever Winter 2024 · EA · $19M
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)
Escape from Tarkov $49.99 55,824 49% 1.7M $84M (exactly $83,719,253) Battlestate Games
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
The Forever Winter · EA $29.99 21,376 68% 641k $19M (exactly $19,231,987) Fun Dog Studios
Marauders · EA older $29.99 13,505 68% 405k $12M (exactly $12,150,448) Small Impact Games
Incursion Red River · EA older $21.99 8,300 76% 249k $5.5M (exactly $5,475,510) Games Of Tomorrow GmbH
Crime Boss: Rockay City older $19.99 8,553 68% 257k $5.1M (exactly $5,129,234) INGAME STUDIOS
SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada $39.99 3,303 40% 99k $4.0M (exactly $3,962,609) Game Studio Inc.
CyberCorp $14.99 351 75% 11k $158k (exactly $157,845) Megame LLC
Reaper Actual · EA $19.99 109 42% 3.3k $65k (exactly $65,367) Distinct Possibility Studios, Inc.
Bandit Trap $14.99 28 92% 840 $13k (exactly $12,592) PICOMY
Future Breach 64 $2.99 105 86% 3.2k $9.4k (exactly $9,418) Yurii Nikshych
No Time For Pants $7.99 33 84% 990 $7.9k (exactly $7,910) Pixel Push Inc
Red Light $4.99 48 58% 1.4k $7.2k (exactly $7,186) LampDog Studio
ASHWAKE · EA $14.99 8 62% 240 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) Ghost Development

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