Do I ship it?

Games › Metroidvania › Metroidvania + Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania?

Metroidvania + Twin Stick Shooter

Only 8 developers shipped a Twin Stick Shooter 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, DAMON and BABY, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 18 more are announced, ×6.0 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 $2.1k against a market of $480. 18 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 4.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 85% on the market, 18 announced, ×6.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Metroidvania + Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 8
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $265k → $179 → $2.1k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Metroidvania + Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 8
Bottom 30% $539 (exactly $539)
Median $2.1k (exactly $2,096)
Top 25% $6.3k (exactly $6,296)
Top 5% $52k (exactly $52,174)
Developers, 2 yr 8
Released games 26
Announced 18
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 85% on the market, supply 40% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Twin Stick Shooter
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, Twin Stick Shooter
Price point
$5.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 13,985 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $540, median $2.1k, 1 in 4 over $6.2k, 1 in 20 over $52k.

3 in 10 developers made under $540. All of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 3 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 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

Minishoot' Adventures 2024 · $3.5M Rusted Moss 2023 · $945k Patch Quest 2023 · $925k The Knight Witch 2022 · $386k BioGun 2024 · $293k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Minishoot' Adventures older $14.99 7,818 97% 235k $3.5M (exactly $3,515,755) SoulGame Studio
Rusted Moss older $19.99 1,575 88% 47k $945k (exactly $944,527) Emlise, happysquared, sunnydaze
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
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
The Mobius Machine older $19.99 442 82% 13k $265k (exactly $265,067) Madruga Works
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet older $14.99 581 88% 17k $261k (exactly $261,276) Shadow Planet Productions
OVERWHELM older $9.99 216 84% 6.5k $65k (exactly $64,735) Ruari O'Sullivan
DAMON and BABY $19.99 87 89% 2.6k $52k (exactly $52,174) Arc System Works
Vacant Kingdom older $7.99 77 97% 2.3k $18k (exactly $18,457) shru
Yarn Guardians $14.99 14 100% 420 $6.3k (exactly $6,296) pentapaw studios
Blast Hopper $5.99 12 66% 360 $2.2k (exactly $2,156) Heartscape Games
Nothing Beyond This Point $4.99 14 100% 420 $2.1k (exactly $2,096) Dieuwt
Hirai Nya $3.99 17 94% 510 $2.0k (exactly $2,035) FirePillar2
Planet Chyton $5.99 3 66% 90 $539 (exactly $539) Peter Lin Jr.
MechCrisis $1.99 3 33% 90 $179 (exactly $179) Team_Bug
Rogue Dimensions $4.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Savage Old Gamers

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