Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Robots

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Robot Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Robots

Of 93 developers who shipped a Robot 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.. 113 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×215 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 113 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 113 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Robots
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 93
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.1k → $479 → $3.0k → $2.4k → $809 → $3.4k → $479 (still earning) → $898 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Robots: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 93
Bottom 30% $179 (exactly $179)
Median $898 (exactly $898)
Top 25% $6.6k (exactly $6,593)
Top 5% $135k (exactly $134,910)
Developers, 2 yr 93
Released games 323
Announced 113
Effort 5 / 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 down 60% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Robots
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Shoot 'Em Up; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Arcade
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Retro, 2D, 1990's
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 2,700 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $900, 1 in 4 over $6.5k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 47 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 113 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.4 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

Raw Data 2017 · $2.4M ROBOBEAT 2024 · $1.0M Assault Android Cactus+ 2015 · $795k Astebreed: Definitive Edition 2014 · $763k Blazing Chrome 2019 · $676k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Raw Data older $39.99 2,036 81% 61k $2.4M (exactly $2,442,589) Survios
ROBOBEAT older $19.99 1,708 94% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,024,288) Simon Fredholm
Assault Android Cactus+ older $19.99 1,325 94% 40k $795k (exactly $794,602) Witch Beam
Astebreed: Definitive Edition older $19.99 1,272 87% 38k $763k (exactly $762,818) Edelweiss
Blazing Chrome older $16.99 1,326 89% 40k $676k (exactly $675,862) JoyMasher
Intrusion 2 older $9.99 1,667 93% 50k $500k (exactly $499,600) Aleksei Abramenko
Rogue Stormers older $19.99 649 65% 19k $389k (exactly $389,205) Black Forest Games
Don't Stop, Girlypop! $19.99 518 83% 16k $311k (exactly $310,645) Funny Fintan Softworks
Neon Inferno $19.99 378 92% 11k $227k (exactly $226,687) Zenovia Interactive
Go Mecha Ball older $19.99 371 85% 11k $222k (exactly $222,489) Whale Peak Games
Genome Guardian 2 · EA $15.99 410 95% 12k $197k (exactly $196,677) Alpherior
Warden's Will $14.99 304 70% 9.1k $137k (exactly $136,709) ELYZIO
Gigantes Ex Machina · EA $14.99 300 84% 9.0k $135k (exactly $134,910) AcrylByte, SEO INSEOK
Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion $9.99 353 93% 11k $106k (exactly $105,794) Bubby Darkstar
SNAKE GAME ULTRA CORE $29.99 89 88% 2.7k $80k (exactly $80,073) Galactic Geckon
閃攻機人アスラ - ASURA THE STRIKER - $14.99 145 91% 4.4k $65k (exactly $65,206) LeftOver
R-Type Delta: HD Boosted $24.99 86 81% 2.6k $64k (exactly $64,474) CITY CONNECTION, TAKE×0FF
PROJECT TACHYON $17.99 117 83% 3.5k $63k (exactly $63,145) STUDIO N9

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