Do I ship it?

GamesThird-Person ShooterThird-Person Shooter + Physics

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Physics Third-Person Shooter?

Third-Person Shooter + Physics

Of 81 developers who shipped a Physics Third-Person 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.. 172 more are announced, ×3.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $960, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 172 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper, while revenue is up 350% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 350% on the market, 172 announced, ×3.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Third-Person Shooter + Physics
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 81
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $1.2k → $475 → $359 → $1.2k → $1.4k → $1.4k (still earning) → $2.5k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Third-Person Shooter + Physics: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 81
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $958 (exactly $958)
Top 25% $6.0k (exactly $5,998)
Top 5% $451k (exactly $450,570)
Developers, 2 yr 81
Released games 249
Announced 172
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 350% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Third-Person Shooter
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Physics
effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Third-Person Shooter, Physics; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, 3D, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 13,327 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $960, 1 in 4 over $5.9k, 1 in 20 over $450k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 49 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 172 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Third-Person Shooter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RhythmStrong odds6 devs · median $3.3k · 6 announced
  2. + WesternFair15 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  3. + CollectathonLong shot19 devs · median $599 · 20 announced
  4. + Time ManagementLong shot15 devs · median $538 · 12 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorLong shot27 devs · median $479 · 27 announced
  6. + Class-BasedPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  7. + Creature CollectorPoor odds12 devs · median $13k · 15 announced
  8. + DinosaursPoor odds8 devs · median $9.0k · 14 announced
  9. + MechsPoor odds38 devs · median $7.2k · 63 announced
  10. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds12 devs · median $6.9k · 70 announced
  11. + Level EditorPoor odds10 devs · median $6.9k · 14 announced
  12. + CraftingPoor odds65 devs · median $5.1k · 156 announced

All 163 pairs on the Third-Person Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition older $19.99 180,637 83% 5.4M $108M (exactly $108,328,009) Rockstar North, Rockstar Toronto
Just Cause™ 3 older $19.99 104,140 85% 3.1M $62M (exactly $62,452,758) Avalanche Studios
Just Cause 4 Reloaded older $39.64 23,358 63% 701k $28M (exactly $27,777,334) Avalanche Studios
Just Cause 2 older $14.99 41,019 90% 1.2M $18M (exactly $18,446,244) Avalanche Studios
Flashing Lights - Police, Firefighting, Emergency Services (EMS) Simulator older $24.99 16,166 80% 485k $12M (exactly $12,119,650) Nils Jakrins
Orcs Must Die! 3 older $29.99 10,930 85% 328k $9.8M (exactly $9,833,721) Robot Entertainment
Sprocket · EA older $19.99 12,336 92% 370k $7.4M (exactly $7,397,899) Hamish Dunn
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap $29.99 4,053 69% 122k $3.6M (exactly $3,646,484) Robot Entertainment
STAR WARS™: The Force Unleashed™ II older $19.99 5,854 63% 176k $3.5M (exactly $3,510,644) Aspyr Studios
POPUCOM $19.99 3,432 87% 103k $2.1M (exactly $2,058,170) Hypergryph
The Greatest Penguin Heist of All Time $14.99 2,361 90% 71k $1.1M (exactly $1,061,742) That Fish, That Other Fish
Brickadia · EA $19.99 1,269 81% 38k $761k (exactly $761,019) Brickadia, LLC
Trench Tales · EA $24.99 601 69% 18k $451k (exactly $450,570) Talking Drums
Emergency Call - The Firefighting Simulation 3 · EA $24.99 370 71% 11k $277k (exactly $277,389) Crenetic GmbH Studios
Birds of War $9.99 439 87% 13k $132k (exactly $131,568) HexNest Games
BeastLink · EA $19.99 187 45% 5.6k $112k (exactly $112,144) Grove Street Games
Queen's Loyalty $13.99 258 83% 7.7k $108k (exactly $108,283) eTIRUe
Last Man Sitting $9.99 357 77% 11k $107k (exactly $106,993) DoubleMoose Games

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