Do I ship it?

Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Metroidvania?

Metroidvania + Shoot 'Em Up

Only 12 developers shipped a Shoot 'Em Up Metroidvania in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Guns of Fury, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 38 more are announced, ×13 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

Only 3 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $6.2k against a market of $480. 38 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 13.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 1785% on the market, 38 announced, ×13 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Metroidvania + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $299 → $8.7k → $6.2k → $2.2k → $38k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Metroidvania + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $2.2k (exactly $2,156)
Median $6.2k (exactly $6,203)
Top 25% $49k (exactly $49,017)
Top 5% $427k (exactly $427,215)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 58
Announced 38
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 1785% on the market, supply 65% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Metroidvania
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Metroidvania, Shoot 'Em Up
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 1,796 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $2.2k, median $6.2k, 1 in 4 over $49k, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $2.2k. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 38 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×13 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + ParkourPoor odds8 devs · median $80k · 40 announced
  2. + Online Co-OpPoor odds12 devs · median $74k · 15 announced
  3. + CraftingPoor odds10 devs · median $34k · 61 announced
  4. + SimulationPoor odds16 devs · median $32k · 35 announced
  5. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $28k · 29 announced
  6. + CollectathonPoor odds30 devs · median $16k · 78 announced
  7. + Co-opPoor odds17 devs · median $15k · 33 announced
  8. + Survival HorrorPoor odds14 devs · median $14k · 46 announced
  9. + Souls-likePoor odds102 devs · median $14k · 335 announced
  10. + VampiresPoor odds16 devs · median $14k · 29 announced
  11. + Inventory ManagementPoor odds12 devs · median $14k · 42 announced
  12. + JRPGPoor odds16 devs · median $12k · 37 announced

All 90 pairs on the Metroidvania page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Journey To The Savage Planet 2021 · $5.1M Minishoot' Adventures 2024 · $3.5M Out There Somewhere 2016 · $1.8M Valfaris 2019 · $1.3M Patch Quest 2023 · $925k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Journey To The Savage Planet older $29.99 5,674 87% 170k $5.1M (exactly $5,104,898) Typhoon
Minishoot' Adventures older $14.99 7,818 97% 235k $3.5M (exactly $3,515,755) SoulGame Studio
Out There Somewhere older $9.99 6,160 92% 185k $1.8M (exactly $1,846,152) MiniBoss
Valfaris older $24.99 1,782 86% 53k $1.3M (exactly $1,335,965) Steel Mantis
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
Guns of Fury $14.99 950 88% 29k $427k (exactly $427,215) Gelato Games Ltd
The Knight Witch older $19.99 643 72% 19k $386k (exactly $385,607) Super Mega Team
BioGun older $19.99 488 87% 15k $293k (exactly $292,654) Dapper Dog Digital
FISH · EA $9.99 583 94% 17k $175k (exactly $174,725) dmcaguy
B.I.O.T.A. older $9.99 206 85% 6.2k $62k (exactly $61,738) small bros
Super Roboy $14.99 109 93% 3.3k $49k (exactly $49,017) Vincent Penning
ChainStaff $14.99 84 92% 2.5k $38k (exactly $37,775) Mommy's Best Games
Yarn Guardians $14.99 14 100% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) pentapaw studios
Speedollama $8.99 23 95% 690 $6.2k (exactly $6,203) Chaosmonger Studio
Crab Attack $11.99 10 100% 300 $3.6k (exactly $3,597) Crab Attack Games
Nauts $8.99 10 100% 300 $2.7k (exactly $2,697) Jorge A. García González, Carlos Álvare… (Jorge A. García González, Carlos Álvarez-Nava González)
Blast Hopper $5.99 12 66% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) Heartscape Games
Mayday $6.99 1 100% 30 $210 (exactly $210) GTD

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