Do I ship it?

GamesShooterShooter + Strategy RPG

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Strategy RPG Shooter?

Shooter + Strategy RPG

Of 30 developers who shipped a Strategy RPG Shooter 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.. 52 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $840, ×1.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $5.8M, ×9271 the market median. Revenue is up 1930% on the market; 52 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 1930% on the market, 52 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + Strategy RPG
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 30
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $148 → $713 → $90 → $299 → $299 → $150 → $5.5k (still earning) → $772k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + Strategy RPG: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 30
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $839 (exactly $839)
Top 25% $8.2k (exactly $8,150)
Top 5% $5.8M (exactly $5,822,144)
Developers, 2 yr 30
Released games 86
Announced 52
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 1930% on the market, supply 50% 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
Strategy RPG
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Shooter, Strategy RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, RPG, Action RTS
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Isometric, Cinematic, Comedy
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 81% positive over 26,223 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 $840, 1 in 4 over $8.1k, 1 in 20 over $5.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Dating SimFair23 devs · median $9.8k · 17 announced
  2. + CollectathonFair69 devs · median $1.4k · 64 announced
  3. + VampiresFair38 devs · median $1.3k · 41 announced
  4. + Walking SimulatorFair68 devs · median $1.2k · 62 announced
  5. + IdlerFair70 devs · median $836 · 59 announced
  6. + Match 3Fair15 devs · median $719 · 5 announced
  7. + SnowFair22 devs · median $570 · 23 announced
  8. + Boss RushFair16 devs · median $537 · 20 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair85 devs · median $479 · 88 announced
  10. + ArcadeLong shot1,151 devs · median $419 · 1,332 announced
  11. + Score AttackLong shot372 devs · median $300 · 352 announced
  12. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds25 devs · median $139k · 45 announced

All 229 pairs on the Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
STAR WARS Zero Company™ $49.99 19,521 82% 586k $29M (exactly $29,275,644) Bit Reactor
Xenonauts 2 $39.99 4,853 81% 146k $5.8M (exactly $5,822,144) Goldhawk Interactive
Ancient Warfare 3 older $12.99 2,659 95% 80k $1.0M (exactly $1,036,212) JNI Games
Warhounds $34.99 735 71% 22k $772k (exactly $771,530) Everplay DMCC
Machine Mind $19.99 567 71% 17k $340k (exactly $340,030) Chudo-Yudo Games
Brigand: Oaxaca older $9.99 551 94% 17k $165k (exactly $165,135) Brian J. Lancaster, Laughing Coyote Sof… (Brian J. Lancaster, Laughing Coyote Software)
Tru Or Die older $9.99 336 52% 10k $101k (exactly $100,699) Tru Hunnit
Prime & Load : 1776 older $7.99 313 76% 9.4k $75k (exactly $75,026) Radio Silence Entertainment
最后的仙门 The last Practice Sect older $3.99 504 53% 15k $60k (exactly $60,329) 栖鸾工作室
Evolve or Die $4.99 252 98% 7.6k $38k (exactly $37,724) Seal
极乐不羡仙 $5.99 164 65% 4.9k $29k (exactly $29,471) 仙常居ソフト
Puropu Defense Squad $9.99 28 57% 840 $8.4k (exactly $8,392) PlayTogether Studio
Demonslayer AKA Me $7.99 34 73% 1.0k $8.2k (exactly $8,150) 晶尘工作室
Clutch Legend: FPS Career Simulator $6.49 37 89% 1.1k $7.2k (exactly $7,204) Federico Mariotti
Luna Hollow - Dream Eater Defense $5.99 32 53% 960 $5.8k (exactly $5,750) CHARON, STUDIO CHARON, 月桂樹冠

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