Do I ship it?

GamesTop-Down ShooterTop-Down Shooter + Steampunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Steampunk Top-Down Shooter?

Top-Down Shooter + Steampunk

Only 16 developers shipped a Steampunk Top-Down 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, Castle Of Alchemists, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 18 more are announced, ×2.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 18 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper, while revenue is down 65% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 18 announced, ×2.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Top-Down Shooter + Steampunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $30 → $9.0k → $269 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Top-Down Shooter + Steampunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $9.0k (exactly $8,991)
Top 5% $278k (exactly $277,915)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 31
Announced 18
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 65% on the market, supply 20% 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.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Top-Down Shooter; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, Action Roguelike
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Top-Down, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 845 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 $300, 1 in 4 over $8.9k, 1 in 20 over $270k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 18 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Top-Down Shooter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + VampiresFair16 devs · median $3.7k · 10 announced
  2. + Turn-Based StrategyFair13 devs · median $1.6k · 13 announced
  3. + World War IIFair11 devs · median $1.4k · 15 announced
  4. + IdlerFair24 devs · median $748 · 30 announced
  5. + ArcheryFair9 devs · median $359 · 11 announced
  6. + LovecraftianPoor odds12 devs · median $6.5k · 28 announced
  7. + Tactical RPGPoor odds12 devs · median $5.5k · 16 announced
  8. + Action RTSPoor odds14 devs · median $4.0k · 32 announced
  9. + HistoricalPoor odds18 devs · median $3.3k · 24 announced
  10. + ModernPoor odds13 devs · median $3.3k · 19 announced
  11. + CraftingPoor odds45 devs · median $3.1k · 125 announced
  12. + DystopianPoor odds24 devs · median $3.1k · 92 announced

All 150 pairs on the Top-Down Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Black Skylands older $19.99 2,849 82% 85k $1.7M (exactly $1,708,545) Hungry Couch Games
Castle Of Alchemists $14.99 618 80% 19k $278k (exactly $277,915) Team Machiavelli
Mind older $17.99 372 69% 11k $201k (exactly $200,768) WHIRLLAXY LIMITED
Tower 57 older $11.99 538 65% 16k $194k (exactly $193,519) Pixwerk
AIRHEART - Tales of broken Wings older $14.99 128 81% 3.8k $58k (exactly $57,562) Blindflug Studios AG
DESTRUCTURE: Among Debris older $9.99 158 90% 4.7k $47k (exactly $47,353) Team Instant Defeat
Driveloop: Survivors · EA $9.99 96 76% 2.9k $29k (exactly $28,771) Stunbyte
Monsters 'til Midnight older $4.99 93 83% 2.8k $14k (exactly $13,922) Retro Dreamer
Rock Boshers DX: Directors Cut older $6.99 47 89% 1.4k $9.9k (exactly $9,856) TIKIPOD
Hell Survivors · EA $7.99 38 55% 1.1k $9.1k (exactly $9,109) Aerilon
Luminaria: Dark Echoes $9.99 30 86% 900 $9.0k (exactly $8,991) Enthariel Games
Dark Reaper Shoots! 2 $5.31 52 69% 1.6k $8.3k (exactly $8,284) SummerTimeStudio
Ventilate $10.99 2 100% 60 $659 (exactly $659) Inkfox Studios
The Legend of Cyber Cowboy $4.99 3 33% 90 $449 (exactly $449) Eastasiasoft Limited
Soul Machine $4.99 2 0% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Zanarka Studio
Lockstone Mountains $2.99 3 100% 90 $269 (exactly $269) Waesome Games
Clock Shooter $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) 4dimonk

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