Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Top-Down Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Top-Down Shooter?

Top-Down Shooter

Of 1,328 developers who shipped a 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.. 2,011 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360 in the last 2 years and $470 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 740 developers shipped in the last year and 2,011 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 2,011 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Top-Down Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,328
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $716 → $1.0k → $628 → $599 → $657 → $449 → $299 (still earning) → $210 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Top-Down Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,328
Bottom 30% $110 (exactly $110)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $3.1k (exactly $3,120)
Top 5% $101k (exactly $101,322)
Developers, 2 yr 1,328
Released games 4,113
Announced 2,011
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
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 20% on the market, supply 25% more developers than 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 high: the lowest rating among its tags.

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
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Top-Down Shooter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $12.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 217,387 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $110, median $360, 1 in 4 over $3.1k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $110. 9 in 10 of the 693 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 2,011 games are announced against 740 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Top-Down Shooter

151 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Choices Matter + Top-Down Shooter Dead $359 59 devs
  2. Top-Down Shooter + Crime Dead $359 20 devs
  3. Top-Down Shooter + Thriller Dead $359 9 devs
  4. Mystery Dungeon + Top-Down Shooter Dead $358 9 devs
  5. Puzzle Platformer + Top-Down Shooter Dead $358 8 devs
  6. Level Editor + Top-Down Shooter Dead $356 15 devs
  7. Top-Down Shooter + Music Dead $327 10 devs
  8. Shooter + Top-Down Shooter Dead $300 792 devs
  9. Arcade + Top-Down Shooter Dead $300 605 devs
  10. Top-Down Shooter + Sci-fi Dead $300 385 devs
  11. Top-Down Shooter + Futuristic Dead $300 170 devs
  12. Vehicular Combat + Top-Down Shooter Dead $300 64 devs
  13. Tanks + Top-Down Shooter Dead $300 31 devs
  14. PvE + Top-Down Shooter Dead $299 355 devs
  15. Top-Down Shooter + Zombies Dead $299 121 devs
  16. Top-Down Shooter + Aliens Dead $299 116 devs
  17. 4 Player Local + Top-Down Shooter Dead $299 45 devs
  18. Hero Shooter + Top-Down Shooter Dead $299 38 devs
  19. Party Game + Top-Down Shooter Dead $299 30 devs
  20. MOBA + Top-Down Shooter Dead $299 11 devs
  21. Combat + Top-Down Shooter Dead $298 542 devs
  22. Top-Down Shooter + War Dead $298 63 devs
  23. Physics + Top-Down Shooter Dead $270 74 devs
  24. Flight + Top-Down Shooter Dead $270 57 devs
  25. Bullet Time + Top-Down Shooter Dead $269 59 devs
  26. Third-Person Shooter + Top-Down Shooter Dead $269 54 devs
  27. Top-Down Shooter + Space Dead $239 247 devs
  28. 2D Platformer + Top-Down Shooter Dead $239 69 devs
  29. Resource Management + Top-Down Shooter Dead $239 33 devs
  30. Space Sim + Top-Down Shooter Dead $239 31 devs
  31. Top-Down Shooter + Spaceships Dead $239 21 devs
  32. Top-Down Shooter + Artificial Intelligence Dead $239 19 devs
  33. Top-Down Shooter + Science Dead $239 12 devs
  34. Automation + Top-Down Shooter Dead $239 10 devs
  35. Turn-Based Tactics + Top-Down Shooter Dead $239 10 devs
  36. Platformer + Top-Down Shooter Dead $180 21 devs
  37. Top-Down Shooter + Logic Dead $180 16 devs
  38. Quick-Time Events + Top-Down Shooter Dead $180 10 devs
  39. Beat 'em up + Top-Down Shooter Dead $179 42 devs
  40. Battle Royale + Top-Down Shooter Dead $179 21 devs
  41. Strategy RPG + Top-Down Shooter Dead $179 10 devs
  42. Top-Down Shooter + Point & Click Dead $150 25 devs
  43. FPS + Top-Down Shooter Dead $150 12 devs
  44. Boomer Shooter + Top-Down Shooter Dead $120 25 devs
  45. 3D Fighter + Top-Down Shooter Dead $120 14 devs
  46. 2D Fighter + Top-Down Shooter Dead $119 52 devs
  47. Top-Down Shooter + Traditional Roguelike Dead $119 17 devs
  48. Sports + Top-Down Shooter Dead $90 13 devs
  49. 3D Platformer + Top-Down Shooter Dead $89 36 devs
  50. On-Rails Shooter + Top-Down Shooter Dead $60 8 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Escape From Duckov 2025 · $45M Foxhole 2022 · $43M Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront 2021 · $34M Hotline Miami 2012 · $33M Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number 2015 · $31M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Escape From Duckov $17.99 83,826 85% 2.5M $45M (exactly $45,240,892) Team Soda
Foxhole older $29.99 47,330 79% 1.4M $43M (exactly $42,582,801) Siege Camp
Call to Arms - Gates of Hell: Ostfront older $34.99 32,183 85% 965k $34M (exactly $33,782,495) Barbedwire Studios, Digitalmindsoft
Hotline Miami older $9.99 109,610 96% 3.3M $33M (exactly $32,850,117) Dennaton Games
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number older $14.99 69,423 94% 2.1M $31M (exactly $31,219,523) Dennaton Games
Aliens: Dark Descent older $39.99 15,310 87% 459k $18M (exactly $18,367,407) Tindalos Interactive
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor $12.99 46,354 86% 1.4M $18M (exactly $18,064,154) Funday Games
The Ascent older $29.99 19,235 74% 577k $17M (exactly $17,305,730) Neon Giant
Brotato older $4.99 111,407 95% 3.3M $17M (exactly $16,677,628) Blobfish
HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition older $19.99 25,663 90% 770k $15M (exactly $15,390,101) Arrowhead Game Studios
BALL x PIT $14.99 24,714 95% 741k $11M (exactly $11,113,886) Kenny Sun and Friends
Door Kickers 2: Task Force North $24.99 12,324 96% 370k $9.2M (exactly $9,239,303) KillHouse Games
The Precinct $29.99 7,837 87% 235k $7.1M (exactly $7,050,949) Fallen Tree Games Ltd
Yet Another Zombie Survivors $14.99 14,123 91% 424k $6.4M (exactly $6,351,113) Awesome Games Studio
The Spell Brigade $12.99 14,731 80% 442k $5.7M (exactly $5,740,671) Bolt Blaster Games
Tower of Babel: Survivors of Chaos $12.99 6,281 68% 188k $2.4M (exactly $2,447,706) NANOO
Cleared Hot · EA $17.99 3,934 96% 118k $2.1M (exactly $2,123,180) Not Knowing Corporation
Suit for Hire $14.99 3,263 92% 98k $1.5M (exactly $1,467,371) Godmode Interactive

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