Do I ship it?

GamesShoot 'Em UpShoot 'Em Up + Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Twin Stick Shooter Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Twin Stick Shooter

Of 168 developers who shipped a Twin Stick Shooter 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.. 216 more are announced, ×2.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×2.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210; 1 in 20 cleared $83k, ×176 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 216 games are announced against 90 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 60% on the market, 216 announced, ×2.4 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 168
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.9k → $3.0k → $2.7k → $3.2k → $1.7k → $1.4k → $599 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 168
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 25% $4.5k (exactly $4,497)
Top 5% $84k (exactly $83,670)
Developers, 2 yr 168
Released games 635
Announced 216
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Twin Stick Shooter
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
Shoot 'Em Up, Twin Stick Shooter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Bullet Hell, Shooter
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 7,351 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $4.4k, 1 in 20 over $83k.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 9 in 10 of the 84 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 216 games are announced against 90 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 second tag, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Minishoot' Adventures older $14.99 7,818 97% 235k $3.5M (exactly $3,515,755) SoulGame Studio
Dead Estate older $14.99 5,778 95% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) Milkbar Lads
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef older $19.99 2,586 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) Rogueside
Beat Hazard older $9.99 5,072 95% 152k $1.5M (exactly $1,520,078) Cold Beam Games
Star of Providence older $14.99 3,178 96% 95k $1.4M (exactly $1,429,147) Team D-13
Greedland $12.99 2,919 83% 88k $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534) VaMP He
The Hong Kong Massacre older $19.99 1,696 73% 51k $1.0M (exactly $1,017,091) VRESKI
Juicy Realm older $9.99 3,269 87% 98k $980k (exactly $979,719) SpaceCan
Patch Quest older $14.99 2,058 94% 62k $925k (exactly $925,483) Lychee Game Labs
Crimsonland older $13.99 2,107 94% 63k $884k (exactly $884,308) 10tons Ltd
Sektori $14.99 897 96% 27k $403k (exactly $403,381) Kimmo Lahtinen
Crafty Survivors $11.99 712 83% 21k $256k (exactly $256,106) Flannel Bear Games
Mech Havoc · EA $9.99 813 96% 24k $244k (exactly $243,656) Mid Development
Genome Guardian 2 · EA $15.99 410 95% 12k $197k (exactly $196,677) Alpherior
Gigantes Ex Machina · EA $14.99 300 84% 9.0k $135k (exactly $134,910) AcrylByte, SEO INSEOK
Shape Shifter: Formations $14.99 269 91% 8.1k $121k (exactly $120,969) Castec Studios
Endless Forest Dream $8.99 362 77% 11k $98k (exactly $97,631) Seeking-chan
Time Treker $6.99 399 65% 12k $84k (exactly $83,670) Fuse Game
The Horde Wants You Dead $9.99 270 64% 8.1k $81k (exactly $80,919) Bellyflop Games

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