Do I ship it?

Games › Split Screen › Split Screen + Top-Down Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Split Screen Top-Down Shooter?

Split Screen + Top-Down Shooter

Of 24 developers who shipped a Split Screen Top-Down 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.. 16 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $13k, ×22 the market median. Revenue is down 35% on the market; 16 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue down 35% on the market, 16 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Split Screen + Top-Down Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 24
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.5k → $269 → $898 → $599 → $1.8k → $748 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Split Screen + Top-Down Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 24
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $599 (exactly $599)
Top 25% $2.1k (exactly $2,097)
Top 5% $14k (exactly $13,762)
Developers, 2 yr 24
Released games 70
Announced 16
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 down 35% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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.

Split Screen
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
Top-Down Shooter
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Split Screen, Top-Down Shooter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Co-Op, Shooter
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, Colorful, Stylized
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 640 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $600, 1 in 4 over $2.0k, 1 in 20 over $13k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 15 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 16 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + Automobile SimStrong odds25 devs · median $5.5k · 14 announced
  2. + DrivingFair54 devs · median $6.0k · 56 announced
  3. + Immersive SimFair12 devs · median $6.0k · 14 announced
  4. + HorrorFair16 devs · median $4.3k · 18 announced
  5. + SportsFair58 devs · median $4.0k · 52 announced
  6. + RPGFair28 devs · median $450 · 31 announced
  7. + Score AttackLong shot23 devs · median $300 · 24 announced
  8. + CollectathonPoor odds10 devs · median $38k · 16 announced
  9. + Online Co-OpPoor odds30 devs · median $25k · 63 announced
  10. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds15 devs · median $18k · 20 announced
  11. + Open WorldPoor odds20 devs · median $10k · 27 announced
  12. + Tower DefensePoor odds8 devs · median $7.9k · 10 announced

All 84 pairs on the Split Screen page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

The Ascent 2021 · $17M Darksiders Genesis 2019 · $9.3M Renegade Ops 2011 · $452k God's Trigger 2019 · $198k DunHero 2026 · $143k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
The Ascent older $29.99 19,235 74% 577k $17M (exactly $17,305,730) Neon Giant
Darksiders Genesis older $29.99 10,379 82% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) Airship Syndicate
Renegade Ops older $15.00 1,005 85% 30k $452k (exactly $452,250) Avalanche Studios
God's Trigger older $14.99 441 72% 13k $198k (exactly $198,318) One More Level
DunHero $8.99 530 89% 16k $143k (exactly $142,941) Dev Kacper
It came from space and ate our brains older $9.99 167 79% 5.0k $50k (exactly $50,050) Triangle Studios
Destropolis older $5.99 255 89% 7.7k $46k (exactly $45,824) Igrek Games
Dead End Job older $16.99 74 71% 2.2k $38k (exactly $37,718) Ant Workshop Ltd
The Walking Vegetables older $9.99 99 87% 3.0k $30k (exactly $29,670) Still Running
Tiny Troopers: Global Ops older $19.99 38 50% 1.1k $23k (exactly $22,789) Epiphany Games, Kukouri Mobile Entertai… (Epiphany Games, Kukouri Mobile Entertainment)
Hyperspaced $16.99 27 92% 810 $14k (exactly $13,762) Rarebyte
Exo Wanderers · EA $11.99 22 100% 660 $7.9k (exactly $7,913) 什工坊SueStudio
The Henchmen $9.99 21 76% 630 $6.3k (exactly $6,294) Alex Von Bronx
Thumb Tanks $9.99 7 100% 210 $2.1k (exactly $2,098) thumbcramp
Steinstern: Spacewar $6.99 10 100% 300 $2.1k (exactly $2,097) Chris Baum
MADHOUSE · EA $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Paul Hubans
Revolvermen $9.99 3 100% 90 $899 (exactly $899) Oskar Wetterbrandt
TANK ZERO $5.99 5 100% 150 $898 (exactly $898) Emergency Exit
Arena Arcade Fest $8.99 3 100% 90 $809 (exactly $809) Oscar Ortigueira López, OrtiGames/OrtiS… (Oscar Ortigueira López, OrtiGames/OrtiSoft)

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