Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Combat

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Combat 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter + Combat

Of 264 developers who shipped a Combat 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.. 423 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 144 developers shipped in the last year and 423 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue flat on the market, 423 announced, ×2.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + Combat
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 264
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $386 → $1.9k → $299 → $330 → $299 → $356 → $240 (still earning) → $61 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + Combat: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 264
Bottom 30% $59 (exactly $59)
Median $240 (exactly $240)
Top 25% $2.1k (exactly $2,100)
Top 5% $56k (exactly $56,372)
Developers, 2 yr 264
Released games 776
Announced 423
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 flat on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 18%, 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
Combat
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, Combat; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvP, Arcade
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 32,916 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $59, median $240, 1 in 4 over $2.1k, 1 in 20 over $56k.

3 in 10 developers made under $59. 9 in 10 of the 155 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 423 games are announced against 144 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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

GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- 2021 · $57M Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2021 · $30M MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls 2026 · $8.9M Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2021 · $6.5M Rivals of Aether II 2024 · $6.3M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- older $39.99 47,650 88% 1.4M $57M (exactly $57,165,705) Arc System Works
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles older $59.99 16,545 87% 496k $30M (exactly $29,776,036) CyberConnect2
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls $59.99 4,934 48% 148k $8.9M (exactly $8,879,720) ARC SYSTEM WORKS CO., LTD
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl older $49.99 4,311 75% 129k $6.5M (exactly $6,465,207) Ludosity, Fair Play Labs
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
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
Stick It to the Stickman · EA $11.99 7,918 96% 238k $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) Free Lives
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection $49.99 1,214 63% 36k $1.8M (exactly $1,820,636) Digital Eclipse
SpiderHeck older $14.99 3,922 93% 118k $1.8M (exactly $1,763,723) Neverjam
Little Fighter 2 Remastered $15.88 1,770 76% 53k $843k (exactly $843,228) Little Fighter Co Pty Ltd, Marti Wong
A Few Quick Matches $6.99 2,475 85% 74k $519k (exactly $519,008) Studio Bidou
Iron Saga VS $29.99 376 79% 11k $338k (exactly $338,287) Gameduchy
Forestrike $9.99 920 91% 28k $276k (exactly $275,724) Skeleton Crew Studio, Thomas Olsson

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