Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Bullet Time

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Bullet Time 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter + Bullet Time

Only 16 developers shipped a Bullet Time 2D Fighter in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Stick It to the Stickman, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 17 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $120 in the last 2 years and $120 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 9 developers shipped in the last year and 17 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 410% on the market, 17 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + Bullet Time
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $238 → $119 → $267 → $719 (still earning) → $61 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + Bullet Time: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $120 (exactly $120)
Top 25% $719 (exactly $719)
Top 5% $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 39
Announced 17
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $2.04

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 410% on the market, supply 30% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 23%, 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
Bullet Time
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
2D Fighter, Bullet Time; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Arcade
Price point
$2.04 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 2.5D, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $2.04.

The top 10 games average 96% positive over 8,009 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 $120, 1 in 4 over $710, 1 in 20 over $2.8M.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 17 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.

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

Stick It to the Stickman 2025 · EA · $2.8M David. 2015 · $35k the Shadow of Swallow 2025 · $3.6k Boulette Hell 2023 · $3.4k UNPLUGGED 2021 · $1.8k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stick It to the Stickman · EA $11.99 7,918 96% 238k $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) Free Lives
David. older $1.99 581 79% 17k $35k (exactly $34,686) Fermenter Games
the Shadow of Swallow $3.99 30 76% 900 $3.6k (exactly $3,591) Raine Studio
Boulette Hell older $6.99 16 100% 480 $3.4k (exactly $3,355) Lucas Delvallet, Quentin Delvallet
UNPLUGGED older $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) omidjm
CPU Invaders - Movie Attack $0.99 42 100% 1.3k $1.2k (exactly $1,247) Microblast Games
Mineirinho Wildtides DC older $0.99 33 36% 990 $980 (exactly $980) Sinned Games
Retro Sniper $7.99 3 100% 90 $719 (exactly $719) Franks.Games, franks.games
The Infecting 3 older $1.99 8 75% 240 $478 (exactly $478) Immure Creations®
Shootvaders: The Beginning older $4.99 2 0% 60 $299 (exactly $299) Went2Play LLC
Deadcave $0.99 9 100% 270 $267 (exactly $267) cnsmini
Astro Runner $3.99 2 100% 60 $239 (exactly $239) Cosmo Games
Overball $5.60 1 100% 30 $168 (exactly $168) ArechGames
Blood And Blade $3.99 1 100% 30 $120 (exactly $120) ZlabiGames
PongBall $1.99 2 50% 60 $119 (exactly $119) NerxStudio
Ghost of Kyiv $2.04 1 100% 30 $61 (exactly $61) Jonald

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