Do I ship it?

GamesManagementManagement + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Management game?

Management + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 24 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up Management game 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.. 18 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 14 developers shipped in the last year and 18 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 18 announced, ×1.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Management + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $958 → $119 → $150 → $449 → $898 → $300 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Management + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $6.1k (exactly $6,149)
Top 5% $20k (exactly $19,760)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 61
Announced 18
Effort 5 / 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 down 65% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Management
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Management, Shoot 'Em Up; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Strategy, Arcade
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 613 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $450, 1 in 4 over $6.1k, 1 in 20 over $19k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomeFair21 devs · median $64k · 23 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair195 devs · median $17k · 225 announced
  3. + WesternFair18 devs · median $13k · 22 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair114 devs · median $12k · 154 announced
  5. + JRPGFair37 devs · median $9.4k · 35 announced
  6. + MinigamesFair22 devs · median $7.4k · 15 announced
  7. + RhythmFair19 devs · median $5.9k · 24 announced
  8. + UnderwaterFair37 devs · median $5.0k · 54 announced
  9. + CollectathonFair182 devs · median $3.5k · 230 announced
  10. + DwarvesFair13 devs · median $3.2k · 18 announced
  11. + 3D FighterFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  12. + IncrementalFair611 devs · median $1.9k · 893 announced

All 214 pairs on the Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Zombie Rollerz: The Last Ship $9.99 139 75% 4.2k $42k (exactly $41,658) Zing Games Inc., 紫英互娱
Dead Unending older $9.99 108 41% 3.2k $32k (exactly $32,368) Tyler Hudson
Mining Survivors $4.99 132 74% 4.0k $20k (exactly $19,760) Wonderbounce Games
Soba's Gunpaw $2.99 130 93% 3.9k $12k (exactly $11,661) Evrac Studio
Zombie Liminal Fishing $13.99 21 85% 630 $8.8k (exactly $8,814) Chris Danelon
Tale of Immortal Ring $4.99 51 66% 1.5k $7.6k (exactly $7,635) Solo Gaming
Oik Memory older $0.99 243 86% 7.3k $7.2k (exactly $7,217) Crew Lab
Dr. Professor Scientist's Weapons Testing Facility older $4.99 48 77% 1.4k $7.2k (exactly $7,186) Cool Smithy Games
Coffin Rot Brewing Co. older $4.99 44 79% 1.3k $6.6k (exactly $6,587) Nooner Bear Studio LLC
Shoot The Barrels $1.99 103 72% 3.1k $6.1k (exactly $6,149) BATTLE LAB
Gunslinger Express $4.99 20 75% 600 $3.0k (exactly $2,994) Glinnor
Doomsday Tower Defense $15.99 3 33% 90 $1.4k (exactly $1,439) Urban Isotope
Idle Shooter $5.99 5 40% 150 $898 (exactly $898) Tickle Games
Paint The Snow - idle $1.99 9 33% 270 $537 (exactly $537) Cookie Samurai Team

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