Do I ship it?

Games › Souls-like › Souls-like + Third-Person Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Souls-like Third-Person Shooter?

Souls-like + Third-Person Shooter

Of 32 developers who shipped a Souls-like 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.. 46 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.6k, ×1.1 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $12M, ×8030 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 46 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 50% on the market, 46 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Souls-like + Third-Person Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $150 → $10k → $10k → $15k → $838 → $899 → $22k (still earning) → $539 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Souls-like + Third-Person Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $358 (exactly $358)
Median $1.6k (exactly $1,648)
Top 25% $41k (exactly $40,759)
Top 5% $12M (exactly $12,028,936)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 77
Announced 46
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $8.99

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 50% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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.

Souls-like
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Third-Person Shooter
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Souls-like, Third-Person Shooter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Third Person, 3D, Realistic
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 82% positive over 53,707 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.6k, 1 in 4 over $40k, 1 in 20 over $12M.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 46 games are announced against 16 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Souls-like with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Dating SimStrong odds17 devs · median $34k · 8 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair25 devs · median $27k · 17 announced
  3. + Artificial IntelligenceFair13 devs · median $22k · 17 announced
  4. + JRPGFair31 devs · median $8.6k · 35 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair9 devs · median $3.9k · 10 announced
  6. + PsychologicalFair17 devs · median $1.8k · 17 announced
  7. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.3k · 7 announced
  8. + Precision PlatformerLong shot49 devs · median $776 · 46 announced
  9. + Score AttackLong shot18 devs · median $599 · 21 announced
  10. + WarPoor odds8 devs · median $451k · 22 announced
  11. + Turn-Based TacticsPoor odds12 devs · median $88k · 21 announced
  12. + RomancePoor odds10 devs · median $35k · 16 announced

All 122 pairs on the Souls-like page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

REMNANT II® 2023 · $69M PRAGMATA 2026 · $59M Remnant: From the Ashes 2019 · $57M Mistfall Hunter 2026 · $12M Little Witch Nobeta 2022 · $7.0M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
REMNANT II® older $49.99 46,219 82% 1.4M $69M (exactly $69,314,634) Gunfire Games
PRAGMATA $59.99 32,885 96% 987k $59M (exactly $59,183,134) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Remnant: From the Ashes older $39.99 47,193 84% 1.4M $57M (exactly $56,617,442) Gunfire Games
Mistfall Hunter $24.99 16,045 53% 481k $12M (exactly $12,028,936) Bellring Games
Little Witch Nobeta older $24.99 9,362 84% 281k $7.0M (exactly $7,018,691) Pupuya Games
STAR WARS™: The Force Unleashed™ II older $19.99 5,854 63% 176k $3.5M (exactly $3,510,644) Aspyr Studios
SENRAN KAGURA Peach Beach Splash older $29.99 3,885 81% 117k $3.5M (exactly $3,495,334) Tamsoft
Scars Above older $29.99 2,775 77% 83k $2.5M (exactly $2,496,668) Mad Head Games
IfSunSets · EA $19.99 2,284 74% 69k $1.4M (exactly $1,369,715) POLYMORPH
Metal Wolf Chaos XD older $24.99 795 83% 24k $596k (exactly $596,012) General Arcade, FromSoftware, Inc
Trench Tales · EA $24.99 601 69% 18k $451k (exactly $450,570) Talking Drums
ENTITY: THE BLACK DAY $17.99 494 79% 15k $267k (exactly $266,612) ASD Games Studio
The Bleakest Keep $9.99 719 90% 22k $215k (exactly $215,484) Cache of Bones
Gun Frog $4.99 433 94% 13k $65k (exactly $64,820) Zoteling
Deliria $9.99 136 61% 4.1k $41k (exactly $40,759) Linesway
Maseylia : Echoes of the Past $16.99 61 80% 1.8k $31k (exactly $31,092) Sol Brothers
Evil Awaits™ $16.99 49 75% 1.5k $25k (exactly $24,975) Chai Games

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