Do I ship it?

GamesTop-Down ShooterTop-Down Shooter + Psychological Horror

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological-Horror Top-Down Shooter?

Top-Down Shooter + Psychological Horror

Only 16 developers shipped a Psychological-Horror Top-Down Shooter 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, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.9 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $380k, ×820 the market median. Revenue is down 100% on the market; 30 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 30 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Top-Down Shooter + Psychological Horror
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $657 → $599 → $1.4k → $16k → $12k → $1.7k (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Top-Down Shooter + Psychological Horror: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $897 (exactly $897)
Top 25% $16k (exactly $16,018)
Top 5% $389k (exactly $389,310)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 64
Announced 30
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 100% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Top-Down Shooter
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
Top-Down Shooter
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,707 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 $900, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $380k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 7 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Top-Down Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $3.7k · 10 announced
  2. + Turn-Based StrategyFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  3. + World War IIFair11 devs · median $1.4k · 15 announced
  4. + IdlerFair24 devs · median $748 · 30 announced
  5. + ArcheryFair9 devs · median $359 · 11 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds12 devs · median $6.5k · 28 announced
  7. + Tactical RPGPoor odds12 devs · median $5.5k · 16 announced
  8. + Action RTSPoor odds14 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + HistoricalPoor odds18 devs · median $3.3k · 24 announced
  10. + ModernPoor odds13 devs · median $3.3k · 19 announced
  11. + CraftingPoor odds45 devs · median $3.1k · 125 announced
  12. + DystopianPoor odds24 devs · median $3.1k · 92 announced

All 150 pairs on the Top-Down Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Hatred older $5.99 25,770 84% 773k $4.6M (exactly $4,630,869) Destructive Creations
POSTAL Redux older $8.99 6,745 92% 202k $1.8M (exactly $1,819,126) Running With Scissors
永远消失的幻想乡 ~ The Disappearing of Gensokyo older $10.99 3,023 83% 91k $997k (exactly $996,683) MyACG Studio
SEX with HITLER older $6.99 3,358 81% 101k $704k (exactly $704,173) Adolf Games
Picayune Dreams older $4.99 4,164 98% 125k $623k (exactly $623,351) Stepford, Andyland, milkypossum
ButtKnight $9.99 1,299 91% 39k $389k (exactly $389,310) Goblin Stew, Critical Bliss
D'LIRIUM older $4.99 987 96% 30k $148k (exactly $147,754) B52 Development Team
KUNKUN Defender older $2.99 822 97% 25k $74k (exactly $73,733) Seal
Grand Pigeon's Duty older $3.99 448 76% 13k $54k (exactly $53,626) WolfgangIs
Where the forest ends $9.99 132 68% 4.0k $40k (exactly $39,560) MonkeyBassGames
Ammo and Oxygen $14.99 53 64% 1.6k $24k (exactly $23,834) Juvty Worlds
Seek $4.99 107 81% 3.2k $16k (exactly $16,018) cloud_li
Time for Bed $4.99 83 96% 2.5k $12k (exactly $12,425) NERDY PENGUIN
Just a Little Longer $7.99 7 71% 210 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) Scott Jund
Kuentame $5.99 7 100% 210 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) ApeHardware
Spirit of the Dome $2.99 10 100% 300 $897 (exactly $897) Deformed Studios
报答老板 $3.99 6 100% 180 $718 (exactly $718) 小侠
Snowball Fight Game $2.99 3 66% 90 $269 (exactly $269) rainyrobot

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