Games › Management › Management + Shoot 'Em Up
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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomeFair
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- + WesternFair
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- + JRPGFair
- + MinigamesFair
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- + UnderwaterFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + DwarvesFair
- + 3D FighterFair
- + IncrementalFair
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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