Games › Top-Down Shooter › Top-Down Shooter + Mystery
Should I ship a Mystery Top-Down Shooter?
Top-Down Shooter + Mystery
Of 27 developers who shipped a Mystery Top-Down 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.. 58 more are announced, ×5.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $7.5k, ×16 the market median. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 58 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $898 (exactly $898) |
| Top 25% | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) |
| Top 5% | $7.5k (exactly $7,541) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 27 |
| Released games | 81 |
| Announced | 58 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 70% on the market, supply 30% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Top-Down Shooter
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Mystery
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Top-Down Shooter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Survival
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Top-Down, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 245 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. All of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Top-Down Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + VampiresFair
- + Turn-Based StrategyFair
- + World War IIFair
- + IdlerFair
- + ArcheryFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Tactical RPGPoor odds
- + Action RTSPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
- + ModernPoor odds
- + CraftingPoor odds
- + DystopianPoor odds
Comparable games
OTXO 2023 · $1.5M 
Diary of Lucie 2023 · $163k 
Dap 2021 · $59k 
Yurukill: The Calumniation Games 2022 · $38k 
Ammo and Oxygen 2025 · $24k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | OTXO | older | $14.99 | 3,303 93% | 99k | $1.5M (exactly $1,485,359) | Lateralis Heavy Industries |
| | Diary of Lucie | older | $12.99 | 419 88% | 13k | $163k (exactly $163,284) | Parange Project |
| | Dap | older | $13.99 | 141 92% | 4.2k | $59k (exactly $59,178) | Melting Parrot |
| | Yurukill: The Calumniation Games | older | $19.99 | 64 76% | 1.9k | $38k (exactly $38,381) | IzanagiGames, G.rev Ltd., ESQUADRA,inc. |
| | Ammo and Oxygen | $14.99 | 53 64% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $23,834) | Juvty Worlds | |
 | Kontrakt | older | $14.99 | 24 58% | 720 | $11k (exactly $10,793) | DIG Games |
 | Once in Flowerlake | older | $4.99 | 72 69% | 2.2k | $11k (exactly $10,778) | byMixNez |
 | Demon's GunPlay | older | $4.99 | 53 79% | 1.6k | $7.9k (exactly $7,934) | 夢中迷走 |
 | Dark Sword: The Light of Ainn | $3.99 | 63 93% | 1.9k | $7.5k (exactly $7,541) | MrDoth | |
 | Diddy | $7.99 | 24 62% | 720 | $5.8k (exactly $5,753) | GalaxyVerse | |
 | DayOff: Moonriver incident | $6.99 | 23 91% | 690 | $4.8k (exactly $4,823) | jetzackgames | |
 | INVISIBLE FLOW | $9.99 | 16 81% | 480 | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) | DOGHADHOUSE | |
 | Crimsonwood | · EA | $6.99 | 21 76% | 630 | $4.4k (exactly $4,404) | nodoxi |
 | LYMBUS | $9.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | Happy Accident Studios | |
 | Torch of Shadows | $7.99 | 13 92% | 390 | $3.1k (exactly $3,116) | Acthera Studios | |
 | IMRY | $4.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $2.1k (exactly $2,096) | Igor Yakunin | |
 | Just a Little Longer | $7.99 | 7 71% | 210 | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) | Scott Jund |
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.