Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Bullet Time

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Bullet Time game?

Bullet Time

Of 341 developers who shipped a Bullet Time game 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.. 543 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $200k, ×321 the market median. Revenue is down 40% on the market; 543 games are announced against 192 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 40% on the market, 543 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Bullet Time
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 341
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $742 → $896 → $900 → $958 → $628 → $628 → $449 (still earning) → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Bullet Time: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 341
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $479 (exactly $479)
Top 25% $3.5k (exactly $3,471)
Top 5% $201k (exactly $201,346)
Developers, 2 yr 341
Released games 1,094
Announced 543
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 40% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.

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Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Bullet Time
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
Bullet Time
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 37,262 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $480, 1 in 4 over $3.4k, 1 in 20 over $200k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 175 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 543 games are announced against 192 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Bullet Time

73 pairs with a mechanicwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Bullet Time + Local Co-Op Poor odds $168 13 devs
  2. Sports + Bullet Time Poor odds $119 10 devs
  3. Bullet Time + Multiple Endings Dead $23k 10 devs
  4. Spectacle fighter + Bullet Time Dead $3.6k 11 devs
  5. Souls-like + Bullet Time Dead $1.6k 11 devs
  6. Bullet Time + Puzzle Platformer Dead $958 8 devs
  7. Bullet Time + Puzzle Dead $449 19 devs
  8. Bullet Time + Precision Platformer Dead $446 17 devs
  9. PvE + Bullet Time Dead $297 70 devs
  10. Bullet Time + Top-Down Shooter Dead $269 59 devs
  11. Bullet Time + Choices Matter Dead $239 13 devs
  12. Survival + Bullet Time Dead $210 34 devs
  13. Bullet Time + 2D Platformer Dead $179 30 devs
  14. Bullet Time + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $150 25 devs
  15. Bullet Time + Perma Death Dead $150 21 devs
  16. Destruction + Bullet Time Dead $150 17 devs
  17. Looter Shooter + Bullet Time Dead $150 16 devs
  18. Bullet Time + Local Multiplayer Dead $150 12 devs
  19. 2D Fighter + Bullet Time Dead $120 16 devs
  20. Online Co-Op + Bullet Time Dead $120 3 devs
  21. PvP + Bullet Time Dead $119 17 devs
  22. Racing + Bullet Time Dead $60 17 devs
  23. Flight + Bullet Time Dead $60 10 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Max Payne 3 2012 · $33M Quantum Break 2016 · $28M Killing Floor 2009 · $24M SUPERHOT 2016 · $21M Killing Floor 3 2025 · $20M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Max Payne 3 older $19.99 55,150 86% 1.7M $33M (exactly $33,073,455) Rockstar Studios
Quantum Break older $39.99 23,141 86% 694k $28M (exactly $27,762,258) Remedy Entertainment
Killing Floor older $19.99 39,850 95% 1.2M $24M (exactly $23,898,045) Tripwire Interactive
SUPERHOT older $24.99 27,765 91% 833k $21M (exactly $20,815,420) SUPERHOT Team
Killing Floor 3 $39.99 16,493 46% 495k $20M (exactly $19,786,652) Tripwire Interactive
Trepang2 older $39.99 15,774 93% 473k $19M (exactly $18,924,068) Trepang Studios
WARNO older $39.99 14,502 80% 435k $17M (exactly $17,398,049) Eugen Systems
My Friend Pedro older $19.99 24,570 95% 737k $15M (exactly $14,734,629) DeadToast Entertainment
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger older $14.99 20,869 94% 626k $9.4M (exactly $9,384,789) Techland
SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE older $24.99 9,247 85% 277k $6.9M (exactly $6,932,476) SUPERHOT Team
Stick It to the Stickman · EA $11.99 7,918 96% 238k $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) Free Lives
Suit for Hire $14.99 3,263 92% 98k $1.5M (exactly $1,467,371) Godmode Interactive
Killer Bean · EA $14.99 2,272 73% 68k $1.0M (exactly $1,021,718) Killer Bean Studios LLC
Gunman Contracts - Stand Alone · EA $24.99 1,180 78% 35k $885k (exactly $884,646) ANB_Seth
KILL KNIGHT $14.99 1,804 93% 54k $811k (exactly $811,259) PlaySide
Better Than Dead · EA $14.99 1,500 72% 45k $675k (exactly $674,550) MONTE GALLO
Rogue Command $19.99 1,018 89% 31k $610k (exactly $610,495) feneq
Out of Action · EA $19.99 916 77% 27k $549k (exactly $549,325) Doku Games LTD
Shady Knight $19.99 898 93% 27k $539k (exactly $538,531) Alexey 'cptnsigh'

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