Do I ship it?

GamesShooterShooter + Romance

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Romance Shooter?

Shooter + Romance

Of 26 developers who shipped a Romance 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.. 30 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $4.3k, ×6.8 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.5k; 1 in 20 cleared $220k, ×355 the market median. Revenue is up 175% on the market; 30 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 6.8 times the market baseline, revenue up 175% on the market, 30 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + Romance
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 26
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $6.9k → $150 → $2.3k → $1.8k → $4.3k → $10k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + Romance: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 26
Bottom 30% $1.5k (exactly $1,498)
Median $4.3k (exactly $4,286)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $19,337)
Top 5% $223k (exactly $222,896)
Developers, 2 yr 26
Released games 86
Announced 30
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 175% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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
Romance
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 sits in the high 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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Exploration, Open World
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Cute, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,488 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $1.5k, median $4.3k, 1 in 4 over $19k, 1 in 20 over $220k.

3 in 10 developers made under $1.5k. 8 in 10 of the 16 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 12 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shooter with a different setting or mood, 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
Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition older $59.99 62,205 91% 1.9M $112M (exactly $111,950,338) BioWare
Mass Effect™: Andromeda Deluxe Edition older $39.99 16,741 73% 502k $20M (exactly $20,084,178) BioWare
Mass Effect (2007) older $29.99 14,871 93% 446k $13M (exactly $13,379,439) BioWare
魔女的夜宴 older $34.99 9,664 98% 290k $10M (exactly $10,144,301) YUZUSOFT
Seed of the Dead: Sweet Home older $29.99 3,006 83% 90k $2.7M (exactly $2,704,498) TeamKRAMA
VR Kanojo / VRカノジョ older $49.99 1,767 76% 53k $2.6M (exactly $2,649,970) ILLUSION
Alpha Protocol™ older $19.99 3,420 83% 103k $2.1M (exactly $2,050,974) Obsidian Entertainment
Mass Effect™ 3 N7 Digital Deluxe Edition (2012) older $29.99 2,135 75% 64k $1.9M (exactly $1,920,860) BioWare
Gal*Gun 2 older $29.99 2,094 83% 63k $1.9M (exactly $1,883,972) INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
Tricolour Lovestory older $1.99 26,165 81% 785k $1.6M (exactly $1,562,050) HL-Galgame
Sensual Adventures - Treasure Island · EA $29.99 303 81% 9.1k $273k (exactly $272,609) Puppetmaster3dx
Fox Sex Farm $17.99 413 82% 12k $223k (exactly $222,896) R's
Glitchpunk $19.99 174 47% 5.2k $104k (exactly $104,348) Dark Lord
Miami Paradise 2 $14.99 131 94% 3.9k $59k (exactly $58,911) Entropy Digital Entertainment
极乐不羡仙 $5.99 164 65% 4.9k $29k (exactly $29,471) 仙常居ソフト
ULTRA0 $9.99 89 96% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,673) PenGames
JOI Lab VR 🔞 / 自慰ラボ $14.99 43 60% 1.3k $19k (exactly $19,337) Caulino
Alter Evo $14.99 23 95% 690 $10k (exactly $10,343) Technical Fiction
Milky Rush-Two Paths $3.99 67 74% 2.0k $8.0k (exactly $8,020) snappixgames
SORRY SURVIVOR $2.99 81 85% 2.4k $7.3k (exactly $7,266) TakenokoGames

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