Games › Shooter › Shooter + Metroidvania
Should I ship a Metroidvania Shooter?
Shooter + Metroidvania
Of 48 developers who shipped a Metroidvania 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.. 123 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.9k, ×4.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $630; 1 in 20 cleared $420k, ×680 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 123 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $629 (exactly $629) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.9k (exactly $2,936) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,538) |
| Top 5% | $427k (exactly $427,215) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 48 |
| Released games | 182 |
| Announced | 123 |
| Effort | 6 / 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 down 30% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Shooter
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Metroidvania
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Shooter, Metroidvania; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 87% positive over 5,183 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $630. 8 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 123 games are announced against 23 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + VampiresFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Match 3Fair
- + SnowFair
- + Boss RushFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ArcadeLong shot
- + Score AttackLong shot
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
Comparable games
CONTROL Ultimate Edition 2020 · $61M 
Supraland 2019 · $7.4M 
Mega Man 11 2018 · $3.9M 
Minishoot' Adventures 2024 · $3.5M 
Axiom Verge 2015 · $3.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | CONTROL Ultimate Edition | older | $39.99 | 50,602 86% | 1.5M | $61M (exactly $60,707,219) | Remedy Entertainment |
| | Supraland | older | $19.99 | 12,376 95% | 371k | $7.4M (exactly $7,421,887) | Supra Games |
| | Mega Man 11 | older | $29.99 | 4,312 89% | 129k | $3.9M (exactly $3,879,506) | CAPCOM CO., LTD. |
| | Minishoot' Adventures | older | $14.99 | 7,818 97% | 235k | $3.5M (exactly $3,515,755) | SoulGame Studio |
| | Axiom Verge | older | $19.99 | 5,834 90% | 175k | $3.5M (exactly $3,498,650) | Thomas Happ Games LLC |
 | Haydee | older | $14.99 | 6,226 84% | 187k | $2.8M (exactly $2,799,832) | Haydee Interactive |
 | Mega Man X Legacy Collection | older | $19.99 | 4,033 79% | 121k | $2.4M (exactly $2,418,590) | CAPCOM CO., LTD |
 | Supraland Six Inches Under | older | $19.99 | 3,975 96% | 119k | $2.4M (exactly $2,383,808) | Supra Games |
 | Cave Story+ | older | $14.99 | 5,230 92% | 157k | $2.4M (exactly $2,351,931) | Nicalis, Inc., Studio Pixel |
 | Out There Somewhere | older | $9.99 | 6,160 92% | 185k | $1.8M (exactly $1,846,152) | MiniBoss |
 | System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster | $29.99 | 1,803 87% | 54k | $1.6M (exactly $1,622,159) | Nightdive Studios, Looking Glass Studio… (Nightdive Studios, Looking Glass Studios, Irrational Games) | |
 | Supraworld | · EA | $29.99 | 1,471 91% | 44k | $1.3M (exactly $1,323,459) | Supra Games |
 | Guns of Fury | $14.99 | 950 88% | 29k | $427k (exactly $427,215) | Gelato Games Ltd | |
 | Haydee 3 | $29.99 | 321 84% | 9.6k | $289k (exactly $288,804) | Haydee Interactive | |
 | Dewdrop Dynasty | $11.99 | 233 78% | 7.0k | $84k (exactly $83,810) | Goodgis | |
 | Clockwork Ambrosia | $19.99 | 133 84% | 4.0k | $80k (exactly $79,760) | Realmsoft | |
 | Otherskin | $29.99 | 63 69% | 1.9k | $57k (exactly $56,681) | Game Atelier | |
 | DAMON and BABY | $19.99 | 87 89% | 2.6k | $52k (exactly $52,174) | Arc System Works | |
 | Last Vanguard | $14.99 | 77 81% | 2.3k | $35k (exactly $34,627) | Cool Tapir Studios | |
 | Hellscreen | $17.99 | 45 80% | 1.4k | $24k (exactly $24,286) | Jamie D, Mixtape Games UK |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.