Do I ship it?

Games › Arcade › Arcade + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack Arcade game?

Arcade + Score Attack

Of 1,111 developers who shipped a Score Attack Arcade 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.. 1,117 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 3 / 10 build. 721 developers shipped in the last year and 1,117 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 1,117 announced, ×1.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arcade + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 1,111
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $449 → $898 → $599 → $657 → $539 → $419 → $299 (still earning) → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arcade + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 1,111
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $1.9k (exactly $1,946)
Top 5% $58k (exactly $57,562)
Developers, 2 yr 1,111
Released games 3,177
Announced 1,117
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 flat on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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.

Arcade
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Score Attack
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
Arcade, Score Attack; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Bullet Hell
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $12.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Retro
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 90% positive over 224,692 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $300, 1 in 4 over $1.9k, 1 in 20 over $57k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 484 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 1,117 games are announced against 721 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Arcade with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair59 devs · median $4.3k · 88 announced
  2. + TrainsFair20 devs · median $3.1k · 16 announced
  3. + Visual NovelFair101 devs · median $2.6k · 84 announced
  4. + MiningFair91 devs · median $2.2k · 125 announced
  5. + FaithFair16 devs · median $2.2k · 15 announced
  6. + Turn-BasedFair35 devs · median $2.2k · 32 announced
  7. + EconomyFair199 devs · median $2.1k · 285 announced
  8. + LGBTQ+Fair72 devs · median $2.1k · 61 announced
  9. + DeckbuildingFair170 devs · median $1.9k · 234 announced
  10. + Card BattlerFair68 devs · median $1.9k · 75 announced
  11. + LootFair147 devs · median $1.9k · 215 announced
  12. + VampiresFair34 devs · median $1.9k · 35 announced

All 270 pairs on the Arcade page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Vampire Survivors 2022 · $38M Megabonk 2025 · $30M Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ 2022 · $23M Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor 2025 · $18M Soulstone Survivors 2025 · $12M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Vampire Survivors older $4.99 251,686 98% 7.6M $38M (exactly $37,677,394) poncle
Megabonk $9.99 100,202 94% 3.0M $30M (exactly $30,030,539) vedinad
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+ older $39.39 19,507 94% 585k $23M (exactly $23,051,422) SEGA
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor $12.99 46,354 86% 1.4M $18M (exactly $18,064,154) Funday Games
Soulstone Survivors $14.99 25,749 91% 772k $12M (exactly $11,579,325) Game Smithing Limited
Tetris® Effect: Connected older $39.99 8,429 94% 253k $10M (exactly $10,112,271) Monstars Inc., Resonair, Stage Games
Dead as Disco · EA $24.99 12,354 96% 371k $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) Brain Jar Games, Inc.
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls $59.99 4,934 48% 148k $8.9M (exactly $8,879,720) ARC SYSTEM WORKS CO., 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
Denshattack! $19.99 2,910 98% 87k $1.7M (exactly $1,745,127) Undercoders
Lumines Arise $39.99 848 94% 25k $1.0M (exactly $1,017,346) Enhance, Monstars Inc.
Temtem: Swarm $12.99 2,487 77% 75k $969k (exactly $969,184) Crema, GGTech Studios

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