Do I ship it?

Games2D Fighter2D Fighter + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter + 2D Platformer

Of 253 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer 2D Fighter 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.. 326 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $270 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 140 developers shipped in the last year and 326 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 326 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 253
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $180 → $119 → $419 → $386 → $239 → $210 → $419 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 253
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,647)
Top 5% $35k (exactly $35,030)
Developers, 2 yr 253
Released games 799
Announced 326
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
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 down 10% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

2D Fighter
effort 5 / 10 · low · frame-precise animation and rollback netcode
2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
2D Fighter, 2D Platformer; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Platformer, Combat
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 17,539 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $270, 1 in 4 over $1.6k, 1 in 20 over $35k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 167 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 326 games are announced against 140 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Fighter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomanceStrong odds8 devs · median $4.0k · 6 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair11 devs · median $4.0k · 12 announced
  3. + Card BattlerFair10 devs · median $1.0k · 11 announced
  4. + DeckbuildingFair17 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  5. + Auto BattlerFair16 devs · median $719 · 19 announced
  6. + IdlerFair9 devs · median $599 · 18 announced
  7. + RhythmFair10 devs · median $599 · 12 announced
  8. + SimulationFair51 devs · median $598 · 55 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair16 devs · median $538 · 13 announced
  10. + ManagementFair10 devs · median $449 · 14 announced
  11. + SuperheroLong shot11 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  12. + Resource ManagementLong shot13 devs · median $390 · 14 announced

All 129 pairs on the 2D Fighter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R older $49.99 14,344 91% 430k $22M (exactly $21,511,697) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
BlazBlue Entropy Effect older $19.99 30,410 94% 912k $18M (exactly $18,236,877) 91Act
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl older $49.99 4,311 75% 129k $6.5M (exactly $6,465,207) Ludosity, Fair Play Labs
ROUNDS older $5.99 35,738 95% 1.1M $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) Landfall
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
Anomaly Agent older $11.99 9,463 94% 284k $3.4M (exactly $3,403,841) Phew Phew Games
Stick It to the Stickman · EA $11.99 7,918 96% 238k $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) Free Lives
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 older $49.99 1,013 81% 30k $1.5M (exactly $1,519,196) Fair Play Labs
Battletoads older $19.99 2,111 68% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,265,967) Dlala Studios
Spiritfall older $19.99 1,844 92% 55k $1.1M (exactly $1,105,847) Gentle Giant
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII GLOBAL MATCH $19.99 562 55% 17k $337k (exactly $337,031) SAFARI GAMES
Poetry of Blood: Eclipse · EA $14.99 406 91% 12k $183k (exactly $182,578) ZeroGameStudio
Smack Talk $5.99 867 96% 26k $156k (exactly $155,800) Monchii Studio
IGS Classic Arcade Collection $29.99 94 60% 2.8k $85k (exactly $84,572) IGS(台灣鈊象電子)
Decline's Drops $14.99 170 96% 5.1k $76k (exactly $76,449) Le Moulin aux Bulles
IGNOBLE $6.99 331 82% 9.9k $69k (exactly $69,411) Retromagine
DaemonBride:ADDITIONAL GAIN $19.99 94 82% 2.8k $56k (exactly $56,372) Team Arcana, Kizawaya
PlatyGuard: Swarm Slayer $14.99 117 74% 3.5k $53k (exactly $52,615) ChillyRoom

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