Do I ship it?

Games › Score Attack › Score Attack + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Score Attack game?

Score Attack + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 227 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up Score Attack game 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.. 223 more are announced.

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

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60. Revenue is down 55% on the market, with 223 games announced against 134 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 223 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Score Attack + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 227
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.5k → $3.0k → $599 → $718 → $1.1k → $299 → $299 (still earning) → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Score Attack + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 227
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $2.3k (exactly $2,338)
Top 5% $70k (exactly $69,722)
Developers, 2 yr 227
Released games 874
Announced 223
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 55% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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.

Score Attack
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
Score Attack, Shoot 'Em Up; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Shooter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Retro
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 8,740 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 $300, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $69k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 105 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 223 games are announced against 134 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + MechsFair23 devs · median $6.2k · 24 announced
  2. + Spectacle fighterFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  3. + DragonsFair16 devs · median $2.1k · 11 announced
  4. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $1.7k · 14 announced
  5. + CookingFair28 devs · median $1.4k · 30 announced
  6. + SuperheroFair11 devs · median $1.3k · 5 announced
  7. + Female ProtagonistFair112 devs · median $1.2k · 104 announced
  8. + GolfFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 8 announced
  9. + GothicFair20 devs · median $959 · 14 announced
  10. + ModernFair53 devs · median $899 · 43 announced
  11. + Choose Your Own AdventureFair14 devs · median $898 · 11 announced
  12. + UndergroundFair23 devs · median $748 · 18 announced

All 200 pairs on the Score Attack page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

20 Minutes Till Dawn 2023 · $4.2M HYPER DEMON 2022 · $1.4M Greedland 2025 · $1.1M DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours 2015 · $1.1M LUFTRAUSERS 2014 · $1.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
20 Minutes Till Dawn older $4.99 27,872 90% 836k $4.2M (exactly $4,172,438) flanne
HYPER DEMON older $14.99 3,087 94% 93k $1.4M (exactly $1,388,224) Sorath
Greedland $12.99 2,919 83% 88k $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534) VaMP He
DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours older $49.99 717 82% 22k $1.1M (exactly $1,075,285) Pyramid
LUFTRAUSERS older $9.99 3,398 91% 102k $1.0M (exactly $1,018,381) Vlambeer
DoDonPachi Resurrection older $29.99 982 95% 29k $884k (exactly $883,505) CAVE Interactive CO.,LTD.
Mushihimesama older $19.99 1,442 96% 43k $865k (exactly $864,767) CAVE Interactive CO.,LTD.
Sky Force Reloaded older $9.99 2,687 92% 81k $805k (exactly $805,294) Infinite Dreams
Death in the Water 2 older $14.99 1,734 83% 52k $780k (exactly $779,780) Lighthouse Games Studio
Bloodshed $12.99 1,824 84% 55k $711k (exactly $710,813) com8com1 Software
Iron Meat $19.99 982 96% 29k $589k (exactly $588,905) Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, Retroware
Sektori $14.99 897 96% 27k $403k (exactly $403,381) Kimmo Lahtinen
Touhou Kinjoukyou ～ Fossilized Wonders. $14.99 832 91% 25k $374k (exactly $374,150) 上海アリス幻樂団
Neon Inferno $19.99 378 92% 11k $227k (exactly $226,687) Zenovia Interactive
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
DoDonPachi Resurrection Reignite $24.99 158 42% 4.7k $118k (exactly $118,453) CAVE Interactive CO., LTD.
BIRDCAGE $13.99 218 97% 6.5k $91k (exactly $91,495) POLYGON BIRD
TOP DOG $9.99 263 88% 7.9k $79k (exactly $78,821) MorfeoDev

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