Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Twin Stick Shooter
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.
| 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.
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
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
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.
What kills games here
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.
Adjacent niches
Shoot 'Em Up with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FaithFair
- + RomanceFair
- + VampiresFair
- + Quick-Time EventsFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + Resource ManagementFair
- + ArcadeFair
- + SwordplayLong shot
- + MusicPoor odds
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
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.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.