Do I ship it?

Games › Shoot 'Em Up › Shoot 'Em Up + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Shoot 'Em Up?

Shoot 'Em Up + Zombies

Of 105 developers who shipped a Zombie 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.. 104 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 46 developers shipped in the last year and 104 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 215% on the market, 104 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shoot 'Em Up + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 105
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $600 → $2.5k → $299 → $450 → $179 → $359 → $269 (still earning) → $987 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shoot 'Em Up + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 105
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $2.7k (exactly $2,695)
Top 5% $45k (exactly $45,105)
Developers, 2 yr 105
Released games 380
Announced 104
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 215% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 12%, 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Shoot 'Em Up
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Zombies
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Shoot 'Em Up; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 5,138 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $300, 1 in 4 over $2.6k, 1 in 20 over $45k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 68 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 104 games are announced against 46 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Shoot 'Em Up with a different setting or mood, 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

Dead Estate 2021 · $2.6M Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2 2018 · $1.8M After the Fall® 2021 · $1.5M Apocalypse Party 2023 · $1.4M Zombotron 2019 · $1.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Dead Estate older $14.99 5,778 95% 173k $2.6M (exactly $2,598,367) Milkbar Lads
Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2 older $12.99 4,742 94% 142k $1.8M (exactly $1,847,957) Rogueside, Claeysbrothers
After the Fall® older $19.99 2,572 76% 77k $1.5M (exactly $1,542,428) Vertigo Games
Apocalypse Party older $9.99 4,658 72% 140k $1.4M (exactly $1,396,003) Breaker Games
Zombotron older $14.99 2,974 89% 89k $1.3M (exactly $1,337,408) Ant.Karlov Games
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program $14.99 2,727 76% 82k $1.2M (exactly $1,226,332) WarmCore Studio
Guns, Gore & Cannoli older $9.99 3,681 91% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,103,196) Rogueside, Claeysbrothers
LEWDAPOCALYPSE Hentai Evil older $4.99 5,960 94% 179k $892k (exactly $892,212) KG/AM
Crimsonland older $13.99 2,107 94% 63k $884k (exactly $884,308) 10tons Ltd
GIBZ older $5.99 1,321 88% 40k $237k (exactly $237,384) Torrunt
Ultimate Zombie Defense 2 $9.99 589 76% 18k $177k (exactly $176,523) Terror Dog Studio
Rhythm Witch: Beat Death $5.99 508 94% 15k $91k (exactly $91,288) Dusklight CO., LTD.
Soulforge Lost Path $8.99 302 69% 9.1k $81k (exactly $81,449) Ziyue
Graveyard Gunslingers $7.99 224 58% 6.7k $54k (exactly $53,693) PyroPhysics
Haunted Lands $5.99 251 77% 7.5k $45k (exactly $45,105) alevgor
Zombie Rollerz: The Last Ship $9.99 139 75% 4.2k $42k (exactly $41,658) Zing Games Inc., 紫英互娱
Zombiehood $9.99 132 86% 4.0k $40k (exactly $39,560) Weak Spots, Dead Traveler
Psionic Awake $4.99 184 63% 5.5k $28k (exactly $27,545) Mighty Cat
Ghetto Zombies: Graffiti Squad $9.99 82 95% 2.5k $25k (exactly $24,575) Fogo Games

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