Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Psychological Horror

Only 15 developers shipped a Psychological-Horror Shoot 'Em Up in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, ButtKnight, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 30 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $30, ×0.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 30 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper, while revenue is down 100% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 30 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $475 → $6.6k → $24k → $90 → $2.4k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $30 (exactly $30)
Top 25% $478 (exactly $478)
Top 5% $389k (exactly $389,310)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 74
Announced 30
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $3.99

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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Psychological Horror
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Shoot 'Em Up
Price point
$3.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 9 games average 92% positive over 1,908 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $30, 1 in 4 over $470, 1 in 20 over $380k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shoot 'Em Up with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + FaithFair13 devs · median $17k · 13 announced
  2. + RomanceFair10 devs · median $1.5k · 7 announced
  3. + VampiresFair15 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  4. + Quick-Time EventsFair8 devs · median $1.2k · 12 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair39 devs · median $628 · 36 announced
  6. + IdlerFair36 devs · median $628 · 14 announced
  7. + Tower DefenseFair70 devs · median $599 · 54 announced
  8. + Resource ManagementFair26 devs · median $599 · 34 announced
  9. + ArcadeFair749 devs · median $419 · 783 announced
  10. + SwordplayLong shot13 devs · median $300 · 5 announced
  11. + MusicPoor odds12 devs · median $9.0k · 12 announced
  12. + LovecraftianPoor odds8 devs · median $8.1k · 20 announced

All 169 pairs on the Shoot 'Em Up page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Touhou Tenkuushou ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons. 2017 · $1.9M SAMOLIOTIK 2016 · $1.2M Angel at Dusk 2024 · $754k Touhou Fuujinroku ~ Mountain of Faith. 2020 · $729k SEX with HITLER 2022 · $704k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Touhou Tenkuushou ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons. older $14.99 4,312 98% 129k $1.9M (exactly $1,939,106) 上海アリス幻樂団
SAMOLIOTIK older $29.99 1,280 89% 38k $1.2M (exactly $1,151,616) Volens Nolens Games, Nikita P. Chiril G.
Angel at Dusk older $14.99 1,676 98% 50k $754k (exactly $753,697) Akiragoya
Touhou Fuujinroku ~ Mountain of Faith. older $14.99 1,621 98% 49k $729k (exactly $728,964) 上海アリス幻樂団
SEX with HITLER older $6.99 3,358 81% 101k $704k (exactly $704,173) Adolf Games
Touhou Kanjuden ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. older $14.99 1,516 98% 45k $682k (exactly $681,745) 上海アリス幻樂団
CPU Invaders older $29.99 496 86% 15k $446k (exactly $446,251) Microblast Games
ButtKnight $9.99 1,299 91% 39k $389k (exactly $389,310) Goblin Stew, Critical Bliss
Touhou Chireiden ~ Subterranean Animism. older $14.99 809 97% 24k $364k (exactly $363,807) 上海アリス幻樂団
FISH · EA $9.99 583 94% 17k $175k (exactly $174,725) dmcaguy
INJECTION $7.99 10 70% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) ButterCorp
Last Stand: Zombie Horde $1.99 8 100% 240 $478 (exactly $478) KOZGAMES
The Last Hope: Exodus $5.00 2 0% 60 $300 (exactly $300) Shaheer Saleem
Snowball Fight Game $2.99 3 66% 90 $269 (exactly $269) rainyrobot
Flooded Lands $2.99 1 0% 30 $90 (exactly $90) OpxGaming
Zumbido Seele $0.99 1 0% 30 $30 (exactly $30) Cristopher Rebellato Alexis
ULTRA X-TREME HUNTING SIMULATOR 2001 $0.99 1 100% 30 $30 (exactly $30) Ref
Fatal Research $3.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Lonepiece

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