Hero shooters
A tough niche: many competitors for the demand that exists. Average across 4 platforms: niche 38/100, demand 51/100, competition 38/100, development cost 64/100. On Steam: 699 games and 229,083 players online; 8% of games reach 500+ reviews, average spend per player is $12.46.
Niche
38/100
Demand (0–100)
51/100
Competition
38/100
Dev cost
64/100
Spend per player
$12.46
Hit rate (500+ reviews)
8%
Key findings
- Ranked #90 of 100 in the overall niche ranking.
- The niche looks best on App Store (62/100) and weakest on itch.io (0/100).
- Competition is below typical: 38/100 vs a median of 57/100 — a new game has an easier time getting noticed.
- Development is costlier than typical: index 64/100 vs a median of 39/100 — plan for more time and money.
- On Steam, only 8% of games reached 500+ reviews — less often than usual (median 16%).
- Small-studio games make up 37% of all Steam games with this tag.
By platform
| Platform | Popularity | Games / leaders’ share | Competition | Niche | Dev cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | 70/100 | 699 | 43/100 | 46/100 | 64/100 |
| itch.io | 0/100 | 12 | 0/100 | 0/100 | 68/100 |
| Yandex Games | no data | ||||
| Google Play | 75/100 | 84% | 75/100 | 43/100 | 62/100 |
| App Store | 60/100 | 46% | 35/100 | 62/100 | 64/100 |
Example games — Steam
AAA / big hits
Apex LegendsRespawn · free
Team Fortress 2Valve · free
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six SiegeUbisoft Montreal · $19.99
Indie
Century: Age of AshesPlaywing LTD · free
Perfect Heist 2yeswecamp · $9.99
AXYOSAxyos Games · $4.99
Related genres
Data updated October 12, 2026 Methodology