Do I ship it?

GamesProcedural GenerationProcedural Generation + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Procedural Generation Shoot 'Em Up?

Procedural Generation + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 101 developers who shipped a Procedural Generation 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.. 119 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $78k, ×166 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 119 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 119 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Procedural Generation + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 101
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $2.0k → $1.4k → $2.5k → $2.1k → $599 → $449 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Procedural Generation + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 101
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $4.2k (exactly $4,196)
Top 5% $79k (exactly $78,821)
Developers, 2 yr 101
Released games 338
Announced 119
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 75% on the market, supply 10% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 5%, 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.

Procedural Generation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Procedural Generation, Shoot 'Em Up; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Roguelike
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Top-Down
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 4,570 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $4.1k, 1 in 20 over $78k.

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. 119 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + SnowFair11 devs · median $3.0k · 16 announced
  2. + Traditional RoguelikeFair71 devs · median $2.0k · 93 announced
  3. + DetectiveFair29 devs · median $1.5k · 30 announced
  4. + Word GameFair22 devs · median $1.3k · 23 announced
  5. + TypingFair26 devs · median $1.1k · 11 announced
  6. + IdlerFair98 devs · median $807 · 107 announced
  7. + LogicFair137 devs · median $478 · 149 announced
  8. + Walking SimulatorFair57 devs · median $449 · 62 announced
  9. + Precision PlatformerFair49 devs · median $449 · 42 announced
  10. + Hidden ObjectFair58 devs · median $418 · 56 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds31 devs · median $77k · 95 announced
  12. + TrainsPoor odds22 devs · median $30k · 35 announced

All 222 pairs on the Procedural Generation page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dead Estate older $14.99 5,778 95% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) Milkbar Lads
Star of Providence older $14.99 3,178 96% 95k $1.4M (exactly $1,429,147) Team D-13
DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION older $2.99 12,437 94% 373k $1.1M (exactly $1,115,599) Agafonoff
Alien Hominid Invasion older $19.99 1,572 88% 47k $943k (exactly $942,728) The Behemoth
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
Beat Hazard 2 older $18.99 1,396 89% 42k $795k (exactly $795,301) Cold Beam Games
Downwell older $2.99 7,891 96% 237k $708k (exactly $707,823) Moppin
Voidigo older $4.99 3,782 96% 113k $566k (exactly $566,165) semiwork
Sexy Mystic Survivors · EA older $9.99 1,856 75% 56k $556k (exactly $556,243) Fantasize Games
CRUEL $9.99 1,814 95% 54k $544k (exactly $543,656) James Dornan
Warden's Will $14.99 304 70% 9.1k $137k (exactly $136,709) ELYZIO
Endless Forest Dream $8.99 362 77% 11k $98k (exactly $97,631) Seeking-chan
Cyberwar: Neon City · EA $17.99 171 90% 5.1k $92k (exactly $92,289) Cyber Monkey Studios
Star Survivor $4.99 540 67% 16k $81k (exactly $80,838) SpaceOwl Games, Erabit
TOP DOG $9.99 263 88% 7.9k $79k (exactly $78,821) MorfeoDev
Ancient Cultivatrix $8.99 240 67% 7.2k $65k (exactly $64,728) 五条虾仁(5 shrimps)
Ogre Chambers 2222 $7.99 254 96% 7.6k $61k (exactly $60,884) ANTENNA GAMES
Broventure: The Wild Co-op $4.99 398 72% 12k $60k (exactly $59,581) Alice Games
Graveyard Gunslingers $7.99 224 58% 6.7k $54k (exactly $53,693) PyroPhysics

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