Do I ship it?

GamesThird-Person ShooterThird-Person Shooter + Simulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Simulation Third-Person Shooter?

Third-Person Shooter + Simulation

Of 96 developers who shipped a Simulation Third-Person 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.. 201 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $960, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $450. 201 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper, while revenue is up 35% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 201 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Third-Person Shooter + Simulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 96
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $1.8k → $836 → $980 → $1.5k → $1.5k → $748 (still earning) → $629 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Third-Person Shooter + Simulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 96
Bottom 30% $446 (exactly $446)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $7.2k (exactly $7,186)
Top 5% $379k (exactly $378,647)
Developers, 2 yr 96
Released games 415
Announced 201
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 35% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Third-Person Shooter
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Third-Person Shooter, Simulation; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Open World
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 63,359 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $450, median $960, 1 in 4 over $7.1k, 1 in 20 over $370k.

3 in 10 developers made under $450. 9 in 10 of the 67 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 201 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + RhythmStrong odds6 devs · median $3.3k · 6 announced
  2. + WesternFair15 devs · median $1.4k · 16 announced
  3. + CollectathonLong shot19 devs · median $599 · 20 announced
  4. + Time ManagementLong shot15 devs · median $538 · 12 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorLong shot27 devs · median $479 · 27 announced
  6. + Class-BasedPoor odds11 devs · median $13k · 53 announced
  7. + Creature CollectorPoor odds12 devs · median $13k · 15 announced
  8. + DinosaursPoor odds8 devs · median $9.0k · 14 announced
  9. + MechsPoor odds38 devs · median $7.2k · 63 announced
  10. + Alternate HistoryPoor odds12 devs · median $6.9k · 70 announced
  11. + Level EditorPoor odds10 devs · median $6.9k · 14 announced
  12. + CraftingPoor odds65 devs · median $5.1k · 156 announced

All 163 pairs on the Third-Person Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Arma 3 older $29.99 228,910 90% 6.9M $206M (exactly $205,950,327) Bohemia Interactive
REMATCH $29.99 39,905 70% 1.2M $36M (exactly $35,902,528) Sloclap
Sniper Elite 3 older $29.99 21,407 82% 642k $19M (exactly $19,259,878) Rebellion
EVERSPACE™ 2 older $49.99 12,040 85% 361k $18M (exactly $18,056,388) ROCKFISH Games
Holdfast: Nations At War older $19.99 26,624 90% 799k $16M (exactly $15,966,413) Anvil Game Studios
Flashing Lights - Police, Firefighting, Emergency Services (EMS) Simulator older $24.99 16,166 80% 485k $12M (exactly $12,119,650) Nils Jakrins
Zero Hour older $9.99 28,570 78% 857k $8.6M (exactly $8,562,429) AttritoM7 Productions
VEIN · EA $19.99 11,539 87% 346k $6.9M (exactly $6,919,938) Ramjet Studios
AI*Shoujo/AI*少女 older $69.99 2,100 75% 63k $4.4M (exactly $4,409,370) ILLUSION
Hitman: Blood Money older $9.99 13,642 93% 409k $4.1M (exactly $4,088,507) Io-Interactive A/S
Over The Top: WWI $19.14 6,683 84% 200k $3.8M (exactly $3,837,379) Flying Squirrel Entertainment
DUCKSIDE · EA $14.99 2,692 72% 81k $1.2M (exactly $1,210,592) tinyBuild Riga
Granvir $14.99 842 90% 25k $379k (exactly $378,647) Airborne Games
Emergency Call - The Firefighting Simulation 3 · EA $24.99 370 71% 11k $277k (exactly $277,389) Crenetic GmbH Studios
The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire · EA $18.99 385 81% 12k $219k (exactly $219,334) BEF GAMES
Highway Police Simulator $27.99 242 30% 7.3k $203k (exactly $203,207) Z-Software
Block Fortress 2 $19.99 264 81% 7.9k $158k (exactly $158,321) Foursaken Media
The Ghost’s Intimate Cure $10.99 437 70% 13k $144k (exactly $144,079) 雪山雞白郎, SnowGBL

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