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Should I ship a Physics Twin Stick Shooter?
Physics + Twin Stick Shooter
Of 35 developers who shipped a Physics 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.. 68 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $2.1M, ×3381 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 68 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $4.2k (exactly $4,216) |
| Top 5% | $2.1M (exactly $2,123,180) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 35 |
| Released games | 97 |
| Announced | 68 |
| Effort | 5 / 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 down 70% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Physics
- effort 5 / 10 · low · emergent simulation bugs need hands-on tuning
- Twin Stick Shooter
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- Physics, Twin Stick Shooter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Destruction
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Top-Down
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 92% positive over 31,903 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 68 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Physics with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Roguelike DeckbuilderStrong odds
- + Dating SimFair
- + PinballFair
- + World War IIFair
- + Mini GolfFair
- + GolfFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Hidden ObjectFair
- + CatsFair
- + Mystery DungeonFair
- + BilliardsFair
Comparable games
Soulstone Survivors 2025 · $12M 
ROUNDS 2021 · $6.4M 
Cleared Hot 2025 · EA · $2.1M 
Galactic Glitch 2025 · $359k 
Mech Havoc 2025 · EA · $244k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Soulstone Survivors | $14.99 | 25,749 91% | 772k | $12M (exactly $11,579,325) | Game Smithing Limited | |
| | ROUNDS | older | $5.99 | 35,738 95% | 1.1M | $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) | Landfall |
| | Cleared Hot | · EA | $17.99 | 3,934 96% | 118k | $2.1M (exactly $2,123,180) | Not Knowing Corporation |
| | Galactic Glitch | $12.99 | 920 89% | 28k | $359k (exactly $358,524) | Crunchy Leaf Games | |
| | Mech Havoc | · EA | $9.99 | 813 96% | 24k | $244k (exactly $243,656) | Mid Development |
 | Guardians Frontline | older | $24.99 | 287 83% | 8.6k | $215k (exactly $215,164) | VirtualAge |
 | Lake of Creatures | $12.49 | 354 92% | 11k | $133k (exactly $132,644) | ANTENNA GAMES | |
 | Space Scavenger | older | $12.99 | 289 86% | 8.7k | $113k (exactly $112,623) | Red Cabin Games |
 | PixelJunk™ Shooter | older | $8.99 | 249 93% | 7.5k | $67k (exactly $67,155) | Double Eleven, Q-Games Ltd. |
 | PixelJunk™ Shooter Ultimate | older | $9.99 | 219 86% | 6.6k | $66k (exactly $65,634) | Q-Games Ltd., Double Eleven |
 | Galactic Thunderdome | $9.99 | 35 100% | 1.1k | $10k (exactly $10,490) | Pansimula | |
 | Bumper Blitz TD | $14.99 | 15 86% | 450 | $6.7k (exactly $6,746) | Ragnarok Studios | |
 | Battle Squares | $9.99 | 17 76% | 510 | $5.1k (exactly $5,095) | Feesh Studio | |
 | Hotloop | $2.99 | 47 85% | 1.4k | $4.2k (exactly $4,216) | Tntlaxy GDS | |
 | Cosmo Riders | $3.99 | 19 89% | 570 | $2.3k (exactly $2,274) | Conversion7 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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