Do I ship it?

GamesTop-Down ShooterTop-Down Shooter + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic Top-Down Shooter?

Top-Down Shooter + Magic

Of 85 developers who shipped a Magic Top-Down 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.. 162 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×1.1 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $14k, ×30 the market median. Revenue is up 45% on the market; 162 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 45% on the market, 162 announced, ×3.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Top-Down Shooter + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 85
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $466 → $4.0k → $2.3k → $479 → $599 → $299 (still earning) → $897 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Top-Down Shooter + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 85
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $2.9k (exactly $2,876)
Top 5% $14k (exactly $14,086)
Developers, 2 yr 85
Released games 200
Announced 162
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 45% on the market, supply 75% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Top-Down Shooter
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Magic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Top-Down Shooter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Bullet Hell, Action Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D, Pixel Graphics
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 80% positive over 15,545 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $540, 1 in 4 over $2.8k, 1 in 20 over $14k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 36 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 162 games are announced against 54 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Top-Down Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $3.7k · 10 announced
  2. + Turn-Based StrategyFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  3. + World War IIFair11 devs · median $1.4k · 15 announced
  4. + IdlerFair24 devs · median $748 · 30 announced
  5. + ArcheryFair9 devs · median $359 · 11 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds12 devs · median $6.5k · 28 announced
  7. + Tactical RPGPoor odds12 devs · median $5.5k · 16 announced
  8. + Action RTSPoor odds14 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + HistoricalPoor odds18 devs · median $3.3k · 24 announced
  10. + ModernPoor odds13 devs · median $3.3k · 19 announced
  11. + CraftingPoor odds45 devs · median $3.1k · 125 announced
  12. + DystopianPoor odds24 devs · median $3.1k · 92 announced

All 150 pairs on the Top-Down Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Spell Brigade $12.99 14,731 80% 442k $5.7M (exactly $5,740,671) Bolt Blaster Games
Nine Parchments older $19.99 4,123 77% 124k $2.5M (exactly $2,472,563) Frozenbyte
Goobies older $5.99 1,866 90% 56k $335k (exactly $335,320) Höganäs Spel
Diary of Lucie older $12.99 419 88% 13k $163k (exactly $163,284) Parange Project
LEVEL UP 80 older $39.99 99 79% 3.0k $119k (exactly $118,770) Galactic Geckon
Hand of Fate: Hordes · EA $11.99 312 79% 9.4k $112k (exactly $112,226) Spitfire Interactive
Yet Another Fantasy Title (YAFT) older $19.99 181 59% 5.4k $109k (exactly $108,546) Atomic Wolf
HG Adventure · EA older $13.99 132 88% 4.0k $55k (exactly $55,400) 皓际
REMEDIUM · EA older $17.99 68 66% 2.0k $37k (exactly $36,700) Sobaka Studio
Nurose · EA older $9.99 90 87% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,973) Orongto
Book Shooter $6.99 107 86% 3.2k $22k (exactly $22,438) SOS GameLab.
VOIDFACE $8.99 78 96% 2.3k $21k (exactly $21,037) Frog Hat Labs
Ascendant $9.99 47 70% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,086) Imagisphere
Crucible of the Forgotten · EA $10.99 35 100% 1.1k $12k (exactly $11,540) Dominic Bolin
Fight To The Death $2.99 113 76% 3.4k $10k (exactly $10,136) Amrita
Claws of Soria: Escape the Succubus Night $12.99 25 64% 750 $9.7k (exactly $9,742) Byakko MeiMei
Hell Survivors · EA $7.99 38 55% 1.1k $9.1k (exactly $9,109) Aerilon
NightMare King $4.99 59 83% 1.8k $8.8k (exactly $8,832) Starmoon Cat

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