Do I ship it?

GamesShooterShooter + Quick-Time Events

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Quick-Time Events Shooter?

Shooter + Quick-Time Events

Of 43 developers who shipped a Quick-Time Events 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.. 55 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 33 developers shipped in the last year and 55 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 365% on the market, 55 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + Quick-Time Events
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 43
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.3k → $179 → $449 → $899 → $150 → $657 → $358 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + Quick-Time Events: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 43
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $180 (exactly $180)
Top 25% $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 5% $11k (exactly $10,789)
Developers, 2 yr 43
Released games 134
Announced 55
Effort 6 / 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 up 365% on the market, supply 230% more developers than 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
Quick-Time Events
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium 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, Quick-Time Events; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 352 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $180, 1 in 4 over $1.1k, 1 in 20 over $10k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 33 developers who shipped in the last year.

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
Call of Duty®: Black Ops III older $59.99 157,694 88% 4.7M $284M (exactly $283,801,892) Treyarch, Aspyr (Mac)
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)
Resident Evil 4 (2005) older $19.99 78,502 94% 2.4M $47M (exactly $47,077,649) Capcom
Call of Duty®: Infinite Warfare older $59.99 17,489 65% 525k $31M (exactly $31,474,953) Infinity Ward
Resident Evil 6 older $19.99 51,420 77% 1.5M $31M (exactly $30,836,574) Capcom
Resident Evil 5 older $19.99 48,521 87% 1.5M $29M (exactly $29,098,044) Capcom
Call of Duty®: Advanced Warfare - Gold Edition older $39.99 11,103 64% 333k $13M (exactly $13,320,269) Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software
Blue Estate The Game older $12.99 1,515 92% 45k $590k (exactly $590,396) HE SAW
Commando Collection older $4.99 1,414 95% 42k $212k (exactly $211,676) Macrojoy
1976 - Back to midway older $14.99 128 89% 3.8k $58k (exactly $57,562) Ivanovich Games
Aim Assault $17.99 43 79% 1.3k $23k (exactly $23,207) DIVR Labs
Pet the Cat $4.99 155 83% 4.7k $23k (exactly $23,204) MEWSTURBO
Touhou Iyuushou ~ What the Bullet Hell?! $9.99 36 100% 1.1k $11k (exactly $10,789) Cyoltose, 雨夜枫雪制作组 , 雾雨威Channel, 神心飘游堂,… (Cyoltose, 雨夜枫雪制作组 , 雾雨威Channel, 神心飘游堂, 阐幽赜书房)
2 Bows 1 Arrow $6.99 28 100% 840 $5.9k (exactly $5,872) SKL Games
Mimetic - Prop hunt hide and seek $4.70 25 80% 750 $3.5k (exactly $3,525) ClockNotionStudio
Amber Alert TOTAL VR $5.99 19 47% 570 $3.4k (exactly $3,414) MEATBREAD, VirtualVillain
Night of the Dead Simulator $7.99 12 50% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Unknown People Lab
KeyFortress · EA $7.99 12 83% 360 $2.9k (exactly $2,876) Daisen
QuackSquad $3.99 16 100% 480 $1.9k (exactly $1,915) Boxcutter L.A
Another Day As President $6.99 6 83% 180 $1.3k (exactly $1,258) 1610

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