Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Medieval

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Medieval Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Medieval

Of 39 developers who shipped a Medieval Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 36 more are announced, ×2.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $420 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 36 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 36 announced, ×2.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Medieval
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 39
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $1.7k → $359 → $1.5k → $416 → $539 → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Medieval: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 39
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $416 (exactly $416)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,697)
Top 5% $70k (exactly $69,896)
Developers, 2 yr 39
Released games 90
Announced 36
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 80% on the market, supply 25% fewer 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.

Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Medieval
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
Shoot 'Em Up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Bullet Hell, Action, Action Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
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 84% positive over 1,269 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $420, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $69k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 22 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 36 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shoot 'Em Up with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FaithFair13 devs · median $17k · 13 announced
  2. + RomanceFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  4. + Quick-Time EventsFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair39 devs · median $628 · 36 announced
  6. + IdlerFair36 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  7. + Tower DefenseFair70 devs · median $599 · 54 announced
  8. + Resource ManagementFair26 devs · median $599 · 34 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair749 devs · median $419 · 783 announced
  10. + SwordplayLong shot13 devs · median $300 · 5 announced
  11. + MusicPoor odds12 devs · median $9.0k · 12 announced
  12. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $8.1k · 20 announced

All 169 pairs on the Shoot 'Em Up page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Crafty Survivors 2025 · $256k 东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere. 2021 · $89k Knightmare Tower 2014 · $79k Yuri Sword Saga 2024 · $70k REMEDIUM 2023 · EA · $37k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Crafty Survivors $11.99 712 83% 21k $256k (exactly $256,106) Flannel Bear Games
东方栖霞园 ~ Blue devil in the Belvedere. older $9.99 297 92% 8.9k $89k (exactly $89,011) 东方祈华梦制作组
Knightmare Tower older $3.99 664 94% 20k $79k (exactly $79,481) Juicy Beast
Yuri Sword Saga $10.99 212 97% 6.4k $70k (exactly $69,896) Pico Games
REMEDIUM · EA older $17.99 68 66% 2.0k $37k (exactly $36,700) Sobaka Studio
Witch Explorer older $6.99 165 89% 5.0k $35k (exactly $34,600) Pico Games
Gryphon Knight Epic older $9.99 100 87% 3.0k $30k (exactly $29,970) Cyber Rhino Studios
Runic Survivor older $2.99 226 65% 6.8k $20k (exactly $20,272) STEELDUCK Studios
Waifu Discovered 2: Medieval Fantasy older $5.99 92 88% 2.8k $17k (exactly $16,532) One-Hand-Free Studios
Head Collector VR · EA older $20.00 24 66% 720 $14k (exactly $14,400) Lil Husky VR
Abyss Horde $4.99 89 84% 2.7k $13k (exactly $13,323) Solo Gaming
Arcane Tower Survivors $3.99 90 75% 2.7k $11k (exactly $10,773) Red Horde Games
Hatters · EA $9.99 35 85% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Moon
Hell Survivors · EA $7.99 38 55% 1.1k $9.1k (exactly $9,109) Aerilon
Siegecaster $8.99 32 62% 960 $8.6k (exactly $8,630) Half Human Games, Boss Corridor
Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche $7.99 28 82% 840 $6.7k (exactly $6,712) WayForward
Fur and Fables · EA $4.99 24 87% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) Double Crow Games
Dragon Blaze $9.99 9 100% 270 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) Zerodiv

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