Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Nature

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Nature Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Nature

Of 28 developers who shipped a Nature 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.. 33 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 13 developers shipped in the last year and 33 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 33 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Nature
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 28
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.7k → $359 → $748 → $300 → $598 → $1.5k → $299 (still earning) → $628 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Nature: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 28
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $1.5k (exactly $1,497)
Top 5% $18k (exactly $18,438)
Developers, 2 yr 28
Released games 84
Announced 33
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 20% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Nature
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Shoot 'Em Up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Cartoony, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 266 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $450, 1 in 4 over $1.4k, 1 in 20 over $18k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. All of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 33 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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

Beekyr Reloaded 2017 · $23k Sausage Hunter 2026 · EA · $19k No Need for Flowers 2026 · $18k Dick Wilde 2017 · $16k They Сame From Above 2021 · $12k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Beekyr Reloaded older $9.99 76 81% 2.3k $23k (exactly $22,777) KaleidoGames
Sausage Hunter · EA $4.99 125 88% 3.8k $19k (exactly $18,712) Banger Chasers
No Need for Flowers $14.99 41 100% 1.2k $18k (exactly $18,438) Amanda Konish
Dick Wilde older $14.99 35 82% 1.1k $16k (exactly $15,740) Bolverk Games
They Сame From Above older $24.99 16 62% 480 $12k (exactly $11,995) Piece Of Voxel
Skyfear · EA $14.99 20 95% 600 $9.0k (exactly $8,994) Protoria Studios
Agent 01 older $19.99 8 75% 240 $4.8k (exactly $4,798) GamesBraz
Dynamic Shooting VR older $9.99 16 93% 480 $4.8k (exactly $4,795) Polyfun Games
Hexapoda older $12.99 9 100% 270 $3.5k (exactly $3,507) TOMAGameStudio
Starbug Troopers : The 4 horseflies of the apocalypse $8.99 13 84% 390 $3.5k (exactly $3,506) Big Loot Games
Super Chaos $5.99 13 92% 390 $2.3k (exactly $2,336) Anodaxia
Sunshower $4.99 10 100% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) NOKOGODO
Squidly's Revenge $4.99 10 100% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Howling Wolf Games
Peraglees - The Ooloufian Resistance $3.99 12 91% 360 $1.4k (exactly $1,436) DPADFTW
Zombie Defense:Breach of The Undead · EA $2.99 11 63% 330 $987 (exactly $987) kairainteractive
Big Buck Backshots $1.99 11 100% 330 $657 (exactly $657) Hilltop Games

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