Do I ship it?

GamesShooterShooter + Trading

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Trading Shooter?

Shooter + Trading

Only 15 developers shipped a Trading Shooter 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, Pawn Planet, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 34 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $83k, ×134 the market median. Revenue is up 275% on the market; 34 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 275% on the market, 34 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Shooter + Trading
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $539 → $178 → $6.8k → $36k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Shooter + Trading: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $538 (exactly $538)
Top 25% $12k (exactly $11,988)
Top 5% $84k (exactly $83,916)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 52
Announced 34
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 275% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 29%, 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
Trading
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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, Trading; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Management
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 71% positive over 604 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $540, 1 in 4 over $11k, 1 in 20 over $83k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 34 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 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
Sunkenland · EA older $19.99 20,536 80% 616k $12M (exactly $12,315,439) Vector3 Studio
Ghosts of Tabor · EA older $24.99 9,140 70% 274k $6.9M (exactly $6,852,258) Combat Waffle Studios
X Rebirth older $29.99 5,156 42% 155k $4.6M (exactly $4,638,853) Egosoft
Rebel Galaxy older $19.99 7,255 85% 218k $4.4M (exactly $4,350,824) Double Damage Games
Hard Truck Apocalypse / Ex Machina older $7.99 2,426 83% 73k $582k (exactly $581,512) Targem Games
Taora : Survival · EA older $13.99 353 55% 11k $148k (exactly $148,154) Tulpar Games
Weapons Genius older $5.99 475 53% 14k $85k (exactly $85,358) JDM4iK, Droid Riot
Pawn Planet $9.99 280 71% 8.4k $84k (exactly $83,916) Gambol Games
Shooting Range Simulator $11.99 164 74% 4.9k $59k (exactly $58,991) Buffed Games
Astro Hunters VR older $19.99 64 60% 1.9k $38k (exactly $38,381) Wenkly Studio Sp. z o.o.
Stellar Wanderer DX $19.99 60 71% 1.8k $36k (exactly $35,982) Dream Builder Studios
Zombie Chef $9.99 40 50% 1.2k $12k (exactly $11,988) Voidy
T.D.Z. 4 Chapter 1 - Arrival $5.99 38 92% 1.1k $6.8k (exactly $6,829) Team GZ, VADIM CHURILOV
Phantom Ops $2.99 9 44% 270 $807 (exactly $807) Crazy Games
Seed 2313 $4.99 5 80% 150 $748 (exactly $748) DaShanGames
Shadow Siege $2.99 6 50% 180 $538 (exactly $538) Paulo Vitor de Almeida
We Don't Cry: Zombie Survival $11.99 1 0% 30 $360 (exactly $360) Bored Alchemist
Glory Defence $9.99 1 0% 30 $300 (exactly $300) Waytrel Studio

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