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Should I ship an Action Roguelike 2D Fighter?
2D Fighter + Action Roguelike
Of 69 developers who shipped an Action Roguelike 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.. 121 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 44 developers shipped in the last year and 121 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $180 (exactly $180) |
| Top 25% | $1.4k (exactly $1,436) |
| Top 5% | $53k (exactly $52,615) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 69 |
| Released games | 194 |
| Announced | 121 |
| 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 up 375% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
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
- Action Roguelike
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 2D Fighter, Action Roguelike; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Roguelike, Roguelite
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 1,013 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 121 games are announced against 44 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
2D Fighter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomanceStrong odds
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Card BattlerFair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + IdlerFair
- + RhythmFair
- + SimulationFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + ManagementFair
- + SuperheroLong shot
- + Resource ManagementLong shot
Comparable games
BlazBlue Entropy Effect 2024 · $18M 
Anomaly Agent 2024 · $3.4M 
Spiritfall 2024 · $1.1M 
Shing! 2020 · $200k 
Bleak Sword DX 2023 · $192k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | BlazBlue Entropy Effect | older | $19.99 | 30,410 94% | 912k | $18M (exactly $18,236,877) | 91Act |
| | Anomaly Agent | older | $11.99 | 9,463 94% | 284k | $3.4M (exactly $3,403,841) | Phew Phew Games |
| | Spiritfall | older | $19.99 | 1,844 92% | 55k | $1.1M (exactly $1,105,847) | Gentle Giant |
| | Shing! | older | $19.99 | 334 79% | 10k | $200k (exactly $200,300) | Mass Creation |
| | Bleak Sword DX | older | $9.99 | 641 76% | 19k | $192k (exactly $192,108) | more8bit |
 | Poetry of Blood: Eclipse | · EA | $14.99 | 406 91% | 12k | $183k (exactly $182,578) | ZeroGameStudio |
 | Duelists of Eden | older | $4.99 | 856 95% | 26k | $128k (exactly $128,143) | Thomas Moon Kang |
 | Trials of Valor | $18.99 | 100 95% | 3.0k | $57k (exactly $56,970) | Armored Goblin | |
 | Shana - Priestess of Tona | $9.99 | 190 74% | 5.7k | $57k (exactly $56,943) | Lustration Team | |
 | PlatyGuard: Swarm Slayer | $14.99 | 117 74% | 3.5k | $53k (exactly $52,615) | ChillyRoom | |
 | face the immortal | · EA | $17.99 | 41 92% | 1.2k | $22k (exactly $22,128) | DY |
 | Luctus | $9.99 | 56 94% | 1.7k | $17k (exactly $16,783) | Mriya Game Studio | |
 | River City Saga: Journey to the West | $19.99 | 20 65% | 600 | $12k (exactly $11,994) | Arc System Works, UnitePlus | |
 | Soulbound Roguelike | $9.99 | 34 82% | 1.0k | $10k (exactly $10,190) | DuDu Games | |
 | Wink Out | · EA | $7.99 | 31 100% | 930 | $7.4k (exactly $7,431) | Clevergence Games |
 | The Drain | · EA | $12.99 | 18 100% | 540 | $7.0k (exactly $7,015) | Hatokuma Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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