Do I ship it?

Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + 2D Fighter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Fighter Action RPG?

Action RPG + 2D Fighter

Of 53 developers who shipped a 2D Fighter Action RPG 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.. 108 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $390 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 25 developers shipped in the last year and 108 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 140% on the market, 108 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Action RPG + 2D Fighter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 53
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $298 → $1.9k → $898 → $629 → $299 → $210 → $537 (still earning) → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Action RPG + 2D Fighter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 53
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $239 (exactly $239)
Top 25% $2.4k (exactly $2,399)
Top 5% $168k (exactly $168,030)
Developers, 2 yr 53
Released games 180
Announced 108
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 140% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Action RPG
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
2D Fighter
effort 5 / 10 · low · frame-precise animation and rollback netcode

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Action RPG, 2D Fighter; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 9,576 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 $240, 1 in 4 over $2.3k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 39 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 108 games are announced against 25 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + NavalFair17 devs · median $15k · 11 announced
  2. + Local Co-OpFair68 devs · median $6.0k · 82 announced
  3. + WesternFair13 devs · median $5.5k · 15 announced
  4. + Local MultiplayerFair43 devs · median $5.5k · 56 announced
  5. + Walking SimulatorLong shot35 devs · median $450 · 33 announced
  6. + WuxiaPoor odds7 devs · median $198k · 28 announced
  7. + Character Action GamePoor odds14 devs · median $105k · 55 announced
  8. + MechsPoor odds21 devs · median $59k · 43 announced
  9. + Colony SimPoor odds11 devs · median $58k · 35 announced
  10. + Dating SimPoor odds31 devs · median $44k · 47 announced
  11. + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds23 devs · median $26k · 69 announced
  12. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds77 devs · median $25k · 91 announced

All 211 pairs on the Action RPG page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Street Fighter™ 6 2023 · $60M Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising 2023 · $4.5M Anomaly Agent 2024 · $3.4M Path of Kung Fu 2025 · $2.2M SiNiSistar 2 2026 · $1.6M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Street Fighter™ 6 older $39.99 49,952 81% 1.5M $60M (exactly $59,927,414) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising older $24.99 5,944 83% 178k $4.5M (exactly $4,456,217) Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works
Anomaly Agent older $11.99 9,463 94% 284k $3.4M (exactly $3,403,841) Phew Phew Games
Path of Kung Fu $14.99 4,880 72% 146k $2.2M (exactly $2,194,536) 游鲤化龙工作室
SiNiSistar 2 $14.99 3,545 90% 106k $1.6M (exactly $1,594,186) Uu
The Shadow of Yidhra older $10.99 1,355 89% 41k $447k (exactly $446,744) WhitePeach
Shadow of the Ninja - Reborn older $19.99 595 71% 18k $357k (exactly $356,822) Winning Entertainment Group Inc.
Blade Arcus from Shining: Battle Arena older $29.99 233 82% 7.0k $210k (exactly $209,630) Studio Saizensen
Blazing Aries older $18.99 366 87% 11k $209k (exactly $208,510) Kuroto Zakka
Halluci-Sabbat of Koishi $7.99 701 91% 21k $168k (exactly $168,030) ZRIGN 地霊研究院
IGS Classic Arcade Collection $29.99 94 60% 2.8k $85k (exactly $84,572) IGS(台灣鈊象電子)
Age of Barbarians Chronicles $18.99 101 76% 3.0k $58k (exactly $57,540) Crian Soft
Trials of Valor $18.99 100 95% 3.0k $57k (exactly $56,970) Armored Goblin
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
Vessels of Decay $17.99 24 50% 720 $13k (exactly $12,953) Simon Jakobsson, Aurora Punks
Soulbound Roguelike $9.99 34 82% 1.0k $10k (exactly $10,190) DuDu Games

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