Do I ship it?

Games › Mechanics › Twin Stick Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Twin Stick Shooter?

Twin Stick Shooter

Of 470 developers who shipped a Twin Stick 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.. 789 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $990, ×2.1 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $130k, ×284 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 789 games are announced against 256 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 789 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Twin Stick Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 355
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 470
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $2.4k → $2.7k → $1.1k → $3.2k → $1.5k → $899 → $599 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Twin Stick Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 470
Bottom 30% $180 (exactly $180)
Median $987 (exactly $987)
Top 25% $4.8k (exactly $4,823)
Top 5% $135k (exactly $134,910)
Developers, 2 yr 470
Released games 1,671
Announced 789
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.99

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 55% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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.

Twin Stick 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
Twin Stick Shooter
Price point
$5.99 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 $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 55,324 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $180, median $990, 1 in 4 over $4.8k, 1 in 20 over $130k.

3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 239 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 789 games are announced against 256 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · every pair with this tag

All pairs with Twin Stick Shooter

91 pairs · ranked by verdict, then medianwith: mechanics · settings · any
  1. Physics + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $899 35 devs
  2. Top-Down Shooter + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $898 255 devs
  3. Twin Stick Shooter + Aliens Poor odds $898 45 devs
  4. Twin Stick Shooter + Sci-fi Poor odds $809 154 devs
  5. Local Multiplayer + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $748 45 devs
  6. Shooter + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $719 291 devs
  7. Arcade + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $719 238 devs
  8. Combat + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $599 173 devs
  9. Score Attack + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $599 83 devs
  10. Arena Shooter + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $599 80 devs
  11. PvP + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $599 47 devs
  12. Third-Person Shooter + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $599 16 devs
  13. Twin Stick Shooter + Futuristic Poor odds $598 58 devs
  14. Tanks + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $598 13 devs
  15. Twin Stick Shooter + Space Poor odds $539 84 devs
  16. Twin Stick Shooter + War Poor odds $479 15 devs
  17. PvE + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $359 110 devs
  18. Strategy + Twin Stick Shooter Poor odds $359 37 devs
  19. Twin Stick Shooter + Supernatural Poor odds $358 11 devs
  20. Crafting + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $31k 8 devs
  21. Twin Stick Shooter + Mechs Dead $7.9k 15 devs
  22. Twin Stick Shooter + Music Dead $7.2k 6 devs
  23. Twin Stick Shooter + Western Dead $4.9k 7 devs
  24. Building + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $4.1k 7 devs
  25. Multiple Endings + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $3.0k 10 devs
  26. Open World + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $2.9k 7 devs
  27. Metroidvania + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $2.1k 8 devs
  28. Survival Horror + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $1.8k 7 devs
  29. Twin Stick Shooter + Puzzle Dead $1.3k 11 devs
  30. Hero Shooter + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $899 8 devs
  31. Split Screen + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $748 13 devs
  32. Twin Stick Shooter + Artificial Intelligence Dead $629 9 devs
  33. Co-op Campaign + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $628 12 devs
  34. Flight + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $479 19 devs
  35. 3D Platformer + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $479 5 devs
  36. FPS + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $358 10 devs
  37. Simulation + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $300 14 devs
  38. Twin Stick Shooter + Military Dead $300 12 devs
  39. Space Sim + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $298 8 devs
  40. Beat 'em up + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $210 11 devs
  41. Bullet Time + Twin Stick Shooter Dead $150 25 devs
Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Enter the Gungeon 2016 · $36M The Ascent 2021 · $17M HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition 2015 · $15M Bastion 2011 · $13M Soulstone Survivors 2025 · $12M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Enter the Gungeon older $14.99 79,392 95% 2.4M $36M (exactly $35,702,582) Dodge Roll
The Ascent older $29.99 19,235 74% 577k $17M (exactly $17,305,730) Neon Giant
HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition older $19.99 25,663 90% 770k $15M (exactly $15,390,101) Arrowhead Game Studios
Bastion older $14.99 28,223 95% 847k $13M (exactly $12,691,883) Supergiant Games
Soulstone Survivors $14.99 25,749 91% 772k $12M (exactly $11,579,325) Game Smithing Limited
Darksiders Genesis older $29.99 10,379 82% 311k $9.3M (exactly $9,337,986) Airship Syndicate
ROUNDS older $5.99 35,738 95% 1.1M $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) Landfall
RUINER older $19.99 10,338 89% 310k $6.2M (exactly $6,199,699) Reikon Games
SYNTHETIK: Legion Rising older $19.99 10,111 94% 303k $6.1M (exactly $6,063,567) Flow Fire Games
Nuclear Throne older $11.99 15,047 96% 451k $5.4M (exactly $5,412,406) Vlambeer
Rogue: Genesia $14.99 8,111 90% 243k $3.6M (exactly $3,647,517) Ouadi Huard
Cleared Hot · EA $17.99 3,934 96% 118k $2.1M (exactly $2,123,180) Not Knowing Corporation
Hell Clock $19.99 3,535 82% 106k $2.1M (exactly $2,119,940) Rogue Snail
Suit for Hire $14.99 3,263 92% 98k $1.5M (exactly $1,467,371) Godmode Interactive
Greedland $12.99 2,919 83% 88k $1.1M (exactly $1,137,534) VaMP He
Temtem: Swarm $12.99 2,487 77% 75k $969k (exactly $969,184) Crema, GGTech Studios
KILL KNIGHT $14.99 1,804 93% 54k $811k (exactly $811,259) PlaySide
Relic Hunters Legend $19.99 1,101 65% 33k $660k (exactly $660,270) Rogue Snail
Whisper Mountain Outbreak · EA $7.99 2,421 84% 73k $580k (exactly $580,314) Toge Productions

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