Games › Perma Death › Perma Death + Twin Stick Shooter
Should I ship a Perma Death Twin Stick Shooter?
Perma Death + Twin Stick Shooter
Of 49 developers who shipped a Perma Death Twin Stick 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.. 74 more are announced, ×3.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $60k, ×128 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 74 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) |
| Top 25% | $5.0k (exactly $4,984) |
| Top 5% | $61k (exactly $60,884) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 49 |
| Released games | 171 |
| Announced | 74 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| 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 down 35% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Perma Death
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Twin Stick Shooter
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Perma Death, Twin Stick Shooter; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action Roguelike, Action, Roguelike
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, Top-Down, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 4,785 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Perma Death with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Strong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair
- + Creature CollectorFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + PiratesFair
- + Traditional RoguelikeFair
- + Interactive FictionFair
- + Precision PlatformerFair
- + Time ManagementFair
- + Visual NovelFair
- + 3D PlatformerFair
Comparable games
Nuclear Throne 2015 · $5.4M 
Dead Estate 2021 · $2.6M 
Atomicrops 2020 · $2.3M 
Hell Clock 2025 · $2.1M 
SYNTHETIK 2 2021 · EA · $1.9M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Nuclear Throne | older | $11.99 | 15,047 96% | 451k | $5.4M (exactly $5,412,406) | Vlambeer |
| | Dead Estate | older | $14.99 | 5,778 95% | 173k | $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) | Milkbar Lads |
| | Atomicrops | older | $14.99 | 5,134 93% | 154k | $2.3M (exactly $2,308,760) | Bird Bath Games |
| | Hell Clock | $19.99 | 3,535 82% | 106k | $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) | Rogue Snail | |
| | SYNTHETIK 2 | · EA older | $19.99 | 3,202 81% | 96k | $1.9M (exactly $1,920,239) | Flow Fire Games |
 | Star of Providence | older | $14.99 | 3,178 96% | 95k | $1.4M (exactly $1,429,147) | Team D-13 |
 | Windowkill | older | $4.99 | 3,390 95% | 102k | $507k (exactly $507,483) | torcado |
 | Doomsday Hunters | older | $15.99 | 703 89% | 21k | $337k (exactly $337,229) | Moregames |
 | NeuroVoider | older | $13.99 | 492 77% | 15k | $206k (exactly $206,492) | Flying Oak Games |
 | Mind | older | $17.99 | 372 69% | 11k | $201k (exactly $200,768) | WHIRLLAXY LIMITED |
 | Touhou ~Red Empress Devil. | $8.99 | 438 70% | 13k | $118k (exactly $118,129) | STUDIO POCO | |
 | Ogre Chambers 2222 | $7.99 | 254 96% | 7.6k | $61k (exactly $60,884) | ANTENNA GAMES | |
 | Slimekeep | $14.99 | 109 87% | 3.3k | $49k (exactly $49,017) | BenBonk | |
 | Raining Blood: Hellfire | $7.99 | 198 89% | 5.9k | $47k (exactly $47,461) | TechBooh | |
 | Ammo and Oxygen | $14.99 | 53 64% | 1.6k | $24k (exactly $23,834) | Juvty Worlds | |
 | Cthulhu's Reach: Devil Reef | $9.99 | 68 80% | 2.0k | $20k (exactly $20,380) | The Fine Arc | |
 | BloodDome99 | $4.99 | 79 94% | 2.4k | $12k (exactly $11,826) | Halftone Gaming | |
 | SANDRIPPER | $5.99 | 35 91% | 1.1k | $6.3k (exactly $6,290) | Mack | |
 | Infinicrypt | $12.49 | 16 100% | 480 | $6.0k (exactly $5,995) | Brett Page |
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.