Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Arcade
Should I ship an Arcade 2D Fighter?
2D Fighter + Arcade
Of 199 developers who shipped an Arcade 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.. 264 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, ×0.8 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×245 the market median. Revenue is down 30% on the market; 264 games are announced against 114 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $60 (exactly $60) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) |
| Top 5% | $154k (exactly $153,688) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 199 |
| Released games | 815 |
| Announced | 264 |
| 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 30% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 15%, 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
- Arcade
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 2D Fighter, Arcade; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvP, Combat
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 74% positive over 31,771 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 124 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 264 games are announced against 114 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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
Mortal Kombat 11 2019 · $131M 
TEKKEN 7 2017 · $82M 
Street Fighter™ 6 2023 · $60M 
GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- 2021 · $57M 
Mortal Kombat 1 2023 · $51M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mortal Kombat 11 | older | $49.99 | 87,021 88% | 2.6M | $131M (exactly $130,505,394) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC, Shiver |
| | TEKKEN 7 | older | $39.99 | 68,063 83% | 2.0M | $82M (exactly $81,655,181) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. |
| | Street Fighter™ 6 | older | $39.99 | 49,952 81% | 1.5M | $60M (exactly $59,927,414) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- | older | $39.99 | 47,650 88% | 1.4M | $57M (exactly $57,165,705) | Arc System Works |
| | Mortal Kombat 1 | older | $49.99 | 34,197 74% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,285,241) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
 | Rivals of Aether | older | $29.99 | 33,284 96% | 999k | $30M (exactly $29,945,615) | Aether Studios |
 | Injustice™ 2 | older | $49.99 | 17,445 86% | 523k | $26M (exactly $26,162,266) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
 | Mortal Kombat X | older | $19.99 | 39,392 88% | 1.2M | $24M (exactly $23,623,382) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
 | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R | older | $49.99 | 14,344 91% | 430k | $22M (exactly $21,511,697) | CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd. |
 | SOULCALIBUR VI | older | $59.99 | 9,768 83% | 293k | $18M (exactly $17,579,470) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corpor… (BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corporation) |
 | MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls | $59.99 | 4,934 48% | 148k | $8.9M (exactly $8,879,720) | ARC SYSTEM WORKS CO., LTD | |
 | THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV | $29.99 | 8,399 83% | 252k | $7.6M (exactly $7,556,580) | SNK CORPORATION | |
 | Invincible VS | $49.99 | 3,031 76% | 91k | $4.5M (exactly $4,545,591) | Quarter Up | |
 | Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game | $29.99 | 3,298 85% | 99k | $3.0M (exactly $2,967,211) | Gameplay Group International | |
 | Path of Kung Fu | $14.99 | 4,880 72% | 146k | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,536) | 游鲤化龙工作室 | |
 | FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves | $19.99 | 3,135 82% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,880,059) | SNK CORPORATION | |
 | Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection | $49.99 | 1,214 63% | 36k | $1.8M (exactly $1,820,636) | Digital Eclipse | |
 | Capcom Fighting Collection 2 | $39.99 | 734 85% | 22k | $881k (exactly $880,580) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | Little Fighter 2 Remastered | $15.88 | 1,770 76% | 53k | $843k (exactly $843,228) | Little Fighter Co Pty Ltd, Marti Wong | |
 | Iron Saga VS | $29.99 | 376 79% | 11k | $338k (exactly $338,287) | Gameduchy |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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