Do I ship it?

GamesShooterShooter + Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Platformer Shooter?

Shooter + Platformer

Of 275 developers who shipped a Platformer 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.. 439 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $660, level with the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×361 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 439 games are announced against 142 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 439 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 275
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.2k → $898 → $478 → $653 → $1.1k → $899 → $718 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 275
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $657 (exactly $657)
Top 25% $4.9k (exactly $4,871)
Top 5% $227k (exactly $226,687)
Developers, 2 yr 275
Released games 1,177
Announced 439
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 80% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Shooter, Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, 2D Platformer
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 15,751 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 $660, 1 in 4 over $4.8k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 173 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 439 games are announced against 142 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair23 devs · median $9.8k · 17 announced
  2. + CollectathonFair69 devs · median $1.4k · 64 announced
  3. + VampiresFair38 devs · median $1.3k · 41 announced
  4. + Walking SimulatorFair68 devs · median $1.2k · 62 announced
  5. + IdlerFair70 devs · median $836 · 59 announced
  6. + Match 3Fair15 devs · median $719 · 5 announced
  7. + SnowFair22 devs · median $570 · 23 announced
  8. + Boss RushFair16 devs · median $537 · 20 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair85 devs · median $479 · 88 announced
  10. + ArcadeLong shot1,151 devs · median $419 · 1,332 announced
  11. + Score AttackLong shot372 devs · median $300 · 352 announced
  12. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds25 devs · median $139k · 45 announced

All 229 pairs on the Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Tomb Raider Game of the Year older $19.99 173,270 95% 5.2M $104M (exactly $103,910,019) Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral… (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Feral Interactive (Mac), Nixxes)
UNCHARTED™: Legacy of Thieves Collection older $49.99 29,422 90% 883k $44M (exactly $44,124,173) Naughty Dog LLC, Iron Galaxy Studios
Broforce older $14.99 49,512 96% 1.5M $22M (exactly $22,265,546) Free Lives
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart older $59.99 11,529 90% 346k $21M (exactly $20,748,741) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Neon Abyss older $31.49 19,709 86% 591k $19M (exactly $18,619,092) Veewo Games
My Friend Pedro older $19.99 24,570 95% 737k $15M (exactly $14,734,629) DeadToast Entertainment
Neon White older $24.99 17,259 97% 518k $13M (exactly $12,939,072) Angel Matrix
Duck Game older $12.99 25,262 97% 758k $9.8M (exactly $9,844,601) Landon Podbielski
Worms W.M.D older $29.99 10,435 85% 313k $9.4M (exactly $9,388,370) Team17
Crab Champions · EA older $9.99 26,546 97% 796k $8.0M (exactly $7,955,836) Noisestorm
POPUCOM $19.99 3,432 87% 103k $2.1M (exactly $2,058,170) Hypergryph
Supraworld · EA $29.99 1,471 91% 44k $1.3M (exactly $1,323,459) Supra Games
Terminator 2D: NO FATE $29.99 1,450 84% 44k $1.3M (exactly $1,304,565) Bitmap Bureau
Neon Abyss 2 · EA $19.99 1,968 68% 59k $1.2M (exactly $1,180,210) Veewo Games
Luna Abyss $29.99 923 86% 28k $830k (exactly $830,423) Kwalee Labs
Twisted Tower $14.99 1,827 93% 55k $822k (exactly $821,602) Atmos Games
Onirism $17.99 1,337 82% 40k $722k (exactly $721,579) Crimson Tales
CYAN BRAIN $14.99 1,463 89% 44k $658k (exactly $657,911) NEKOUJI
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
Shady Knight $19.99 898 93% 27k $539k (exactly $538,531) Alexey 'cptnsigh'

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