Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Shoot 'Em Up
Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Souls-like?
Souls-like + Shoot 'Em Up
Only 14 developers shipped a Shoot 'Em Up Souls-like 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, ButtKnight, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $3.1k, ×2.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $380k, ×260 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 24 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $3.1k (exactly $3,146) |
| Top 25% | $6.6k (exactly $6,638) |
| Top 5% | $389k (exactly $389,310) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 14 |
| Released games | 53 |
| Announced | 24 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $6.99 |
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 90% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Souls-like
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Shoot 'Em Up
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Souls-like, Shoot 'Em Up
- Price point
- $6.99 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 2,052 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Dating SimStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Artificial IntelligenceFair
- + JRPGFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + PsychologicalFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Precision PlatformerLong shot
- + Score AttackLong shot
- + WarPoor odds
- + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds
- + RomancePoor odds
Comparable games
Cuphead 2017 · $119M 
Hunt Down The Freeman 2018 · $1.1M 
Death in the Water 2 2023 · $780k 
Touhou Kanjuden ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. 2019 · $682k 
ButtKnight 2025 · $389k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Cuphead | older | $19.99 | 198,790 96% | 6.0M | $119M (exactly $119,214,363) | Studio MDHR Entertainment Inc. |
| | Hunt Down The Freeman | older | $9.99 | 3,785 54% | 114k | $1.1M (exactly $1,134,364) | Royal Rudius Entertainment |
| | Death in the Water 2 | older | $14.99 | 1,734 83% | 52k | $780k (exactly $779,780) | Lighthouse Games Studio |
| | Touhou Kanjuden ~ Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. | older | $14.99 | 1,516 98% | 45k | $682k (exactly $681,745) | 上海アリス幻樂団 |
| | ButtKnight | $9.99 | 1,299 91% | 39k | $389k (exactly $389,310) | Goblin Stew, Critical Bliss | |
 | Neckbreak | older | $15.99 | 415 79% | 12k | $199k (exactly $199,076) | MGP Studios, Solid9 Studio |
 | FISH | · EA | $9.99 | 583 94% | 17k | $175k (exactly $174,725) | dmcaguy |
 | Savant - Ascent REMIX | older | $9.99 | 330 92% | 9.9k | $99k (exactly $98,901) | D-Pad Studio |
 | ONE BTN BOSSES | older | $11.99 | 165 87% | 5.0k | $59k (exactly $59,350) | Midnight Munchies |
 | Guardians of the Ashes | older | $2.99 | 451 74% | 14k | $40k (exactly $40,455) | Mature Games |
 | ODDRooM | $14.99 | 26 96% | 780 | $12k (exactly $11,692) | TEAM ODD | |
 | Great Tough Bikini 6 | $2.99 | 74 70% | 2.2k | $6.6k (exactly $6,638) | nStarcube | |
 | Duck Paradox | $9.99 | 19 100% | 570 | $5.7k (exactly $5,694) | Magic Games | |
 | Crab Attack | $11.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.6k (exactly $3,597) | Crab Attack Games | |
 | Commander Tiberius Troubleson | $6.99 | 15 100% | 450 | $3.1k (exactly $3,146) | Jos_a.b | |
 | Dump of the Dead X | $5.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $1.8k (exactly $1,797) | Drop_Dead_Fred | |
 | Dracs After Dusk | $3.99 | 14 100% | 420 | $1.7k (exactly $1,676) | OliveHillStudios | |
 | Mortal Mythos: Island of Fairies | $4.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | Timur Bondar |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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