Do I ship it?

Games › Runner › Runner + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Runner Shoot 'Em Up?

Runner + Shoot 'Em Up

Only 18 developers shipped a Runner 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, ODDCORE, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 19 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 10 developers shipped in the last year and 19 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 200% on the market, 19 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Runner + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $599 → $1.2k → $179 → $716 → $0 → $479 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Runner + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $179 (exactly $179)
Top 25% $479 (exactly $479)
Top 5% $421k (exactly $420,876)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 87
Announced 19
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $2.99

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 200% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Runner
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Shoot 'Em Up
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
Runner, Shoot 'Em Up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Action-Adventure
Price point
$2.99 typical · top 25% priced $7.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Retro, Side Scroller, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $7.99 or above; the middle game at $2.99.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 1,167 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 $180, 1 in 4 over $470, 1 in 20 over $420k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 19 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Runner with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LootFair8 devs · median $1.6k · 10 announced
  2. + Local MultiplayerFair23 devs · median $1.3k · 30 announced
  3. + PsychologicalFair14 devs · median $839 · 12 announced
  4. + IdlerFair16 devs · median $838 · 8 announced
  5. + Visual NovelFair12 devs · median $750 · 11 announced
  6. + Time AttackFair15 devs · median $599 · 10 announced
  7. + FPSLong shot39 devs · median $958 · 43 announced
  8. + 4 Player LocalPoor odds12 devs · median $2.4k · 16 announced
  9. + MusicPoor odds16 devs · median $1.2k · 20 announced
  10. + Co-opPoor odds38 devs · median $1.0k · 64 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds40 devs · median $898 · 64 announced
  12. + Interactive FictionPoor odds10 devs · median $839 · 16 announced

All 123 pairs on the Runner page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Soda Crisis 2022 · $961k ODDCORE 2026 · EA · $421k pureya 2021 · $403k Furry Killer 2022 · $217k I Hate Running Backwards 2018 · $85k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Soda Crisis older $10.99 2,915 93% 87k $961k (exactly $961,076) Team Soda
ODDCORE · EA $12.99 1,080 96% 32k $421k (exactly $420,876) ODDCORP
pureya older $5.99 2,242 96% 67k $403k (exactly $402,887) Majorariatto
Furry Killer older $29.99 241 78% 7.2k $217k (exactly $216,828) Sujikon
I Hate Running Backwards older $14.99 188 71% 5.6k $85k (exactly $84,544) Binx Games, Croteam Incubator, Croteam
Atomik: RunGunJumpGun older $7.99 290 85% 8.7k $70k (exactly $69,513) ThirtyThree
Speed Limit older $9.99 136 80% 4.1k $41k (exactly $40,759) Gamechuck
GIGANTIC ARMY older $5.99 208 77% 6.2k $37k (exactly $37,378) ASTRO PORT
KILLRUN older $4.99 153 67% 4.6k $23k (exactly $22,904) BULKHEAD
Otherwar older $5.99 59 66% 1.8k $11k (exactly $10,602) kantal collective
GUN.DOG.REVENGE $4.00 18 100% 540 $2.2k (exactly $2,160) MEWSTURBO
MEMOLOGY: ESCAPE OF MEMES $0.99 35 91% 1.1k $1.0k (exactly $1,040) Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel
MPPP - Multidimensional Paper Plane Project $1.99 12 91% 360 $716 (exactly $716) Vifth Floor
Hardcore Soldier $7.99 2 100% 60 $479 (exactly $479) James H. Van der Meulen
Dead Bit $4.99 2 50% 60 $299 (exactly $299) escape2echo
The Fallen Kingdom $1.99 5 100% 150 $298 (exactly $298) Lucas Baldi Aragão
Nori Game $0.99 10 100% 300 $297 (exactly $297) Nori Game
The Acorn Bounty $2.99 2 100% 60 $179 (exactly $179) Justin Farley
Glitch World $1.99 1 100% 30 $60 (exactly $60) Radar

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