Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026
Niches / Top-Down Shooter / Bullet Hell
Top-Down Shooter + Bullet Hell: a typical launch earns $809 in its first year
That is the median of 179 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 10 of 364 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 13.1 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 29% on the year before: 260 against 202.
- One game dominates the figure
- Price
- $809 median of 179 launches
- Price vs a year earlier
- +2.8% four quarters on the four before
- Releases, 12 months
- 260 202 the year before
- Upcoming games
- 658 coming soon on Steam
- Games on the store
- 1,806 carrying both tags
Boards
as of 30 Sep 2026Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.
| Board | Value | Interval | Sample | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it. | 0.07%share of upcoming wishlist heat | 0.05% to 0.09% | 20 ranked of 659 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026 | #2,146 of 7,193pairs on this board |
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter.
| 0.81xhits against expected | 0.56x to 1.22x | 364 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old) | #4,021 of 6,324pairs on this board |
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.
| −9%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam | −28% to +17% | 37 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months | #1,703 of 2,361pairs on this board |
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.
| −14%review growth against same-age games | −27% to +1% | 37 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 | #2,449 of 2,461pairs on this board |
Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.
Launch success
launches 6 to 30 months oldMatured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.
- Launches
- 364
- Hit rate
- 2.7%1.7% to 4.9%
- Expected rate
- 3.6%
- Against expected
- 0.81x0.56x to 1.22x
Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.
Revenue spread
364 launchesEstimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.
- Bottom tenth
- $0
- Median
- $472
- Top tenth
- $12,281
Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.
Supply
raw release countsGames released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.
- Change
- +29%
- Against Steam
- −6%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases
Parent tags
- Top-Down ShooterGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
- Bullet HellGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
Comparable games
8 indie titlesThe biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor (opens the Steam store)2024 · 46,424 reviews, 86% positiveest. $12M
BALL x PIT (opens the Steam store)2025 · 24,912 reviews, 95% positiveest. $7.2M
Pathogenic (opens the Steam store)2026 · 4,345 reviews, 92% positiveest. $829k
R.I.P. - Reincarnation Insurance Program (opens the Steam store)2026 · 3,131 reviews, 76% positiveest. $802k
Apocalypse Party (opens the Steam store)2023 · 4,664 reviews, 72% positiveest. $635k
KILL KNIGHT (opens the Steam store)2024 · 1,816 reviews, 93% positiveest. $551k
Glyphica: Typing Survival (opens the Steam store)2024 · 2,502 reviews, 90% positiveest. $461k
Arms of God (opens the Steam store)2026 · 1,904 reviews, 88% positiveest. $443k
More with Top-Down Shooter
pairs with Top-Down Shooter- Roguelite + Top-Down Shooter$1,010116 launches priced, 189 releases in 12 months
- Top-Down Shooter + Twin Stick Shooter$90973 launches priced, 113 releases in 12 months
- Action RPG + Top-Down Shooter$72833 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
- Top-Down Shooter + Action Roguelike$687150 launches priced, 242 releases in 12 months
- Roguelike + Top-Down Shooter$443111 launches priced, 155 releases in 12 months
- Shoot 'Em Up + Top-Down Shooter$424131 launches priced, 176 releases in 12 months
More with Bullet Hell
pairs with Bullet Hell- Bullet Hell + Bullet Heaven$14,81455 launches priced, 178 releases in 12 months
- Bullet Hell + Female Protagonist$4,45135 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
- Difficult + Bullet Hell$2,12150 launches priced, 58 releases in 12 months
- Twin Stick Shooter + Bullet Hell$1,69964 launches priced, 104 releases in 12 months
- Hack and Slash + Bullet Hell$1,41563 launches priced, 86 releases in 12 months
- Bullet Hell + Procedural Generation$1,36634 launches priced, 34 releases in 12 months
Verdicts
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