The Shmup Index is a searchable catalogue dedicated to shoot-’em-up games, covering the genre from its late-1970s beginnings through contemporary releases. It brings together information on more than 2,600 games across a wide range of decades, developers, styles and gaming platforms. Visitors can browse by platform, release period, developer or store, and sort titles by popularity, reviews, discounts, release date or name.

The index also distinguishes gameplay characteristics such as vertical, horizontal and multidirectional scrolling, fixed-screen play, rail shooters and bullet-hell games. Its listings include familiar classics and modern releases, with details such as developers, orientation, genre tags, prices and retailer availability where provided. The site presents itself as a resource for shoot-’em-up fans seeking information often omitted by larger databases, including ports, scoring and rank behaviour.

It welcomes corrections and missing-game submissions, invites collaboration and offers ways to support the project through coffee purchases and Ko-fi. By combining broad historical coverage with practical browsing and filtering tools, The Shmup Index helps enthusiasts explore, compare and discover games across the genre