Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Demons

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Demon 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter + Demons

Only 15 developers shipped a Demon 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, Terrordrome - Reign of the Legends, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 23 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 7 developers shipped in the last year and 23 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 23 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + Demons
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 15
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $30 → $898 → $1.2k → $359 → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + Demons: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 15
Bottom 30% $90 (exactly $90)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $1.2k (exactly $1,198)
Top 5% $101k (exactly $100,750)
Developers, 2 yr 15
Released games 59
Announced 23
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $3.99

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 80% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 19%, 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
Demons
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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
Price point
$3.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 75% positive over 302 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $90, median $270, 1 in 4 over $1.1k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $90. 9 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 23 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Fighter with a different setting or mood, 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

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2021 · $30M Kingdom Rush Vengeance - Tower Defense 2020 · $5.9M Nocturnal 2023 · $260k Shing! 2020 · $200k Terrordrome - Reign of the Legends 2024 · $101k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles older $59.99 16,545 87% 496k $30M (exactly $29,776,036) CyberConnect2
Kingdom Rush Vengeance - Tower Defense older $19.99 9,906 93% 297k $5.9M (exactly $5,940,628) Ironhide Game Studio
Nocturnal older $16.99 511 90% 15k $260k (exactly $260,457) Sunnyside Games
Shing! older $19.99 334 79% 10k $200k (exactly $200,300) Mass Creation
Terrordrome - Reign of the Legends $19.99 168 72% 5.0k $101k (exactly $100,750) Huracan Studio
DaemonBride:ADDITIONAL GAIN $19.99 94 82% 2.8k $56k (exactly $56,372) Team Arcana, Kizawaya
Slime Dungeon · EA older $29.99 36 77% 1.1k $32k (exactly $32,389) Irinkutor
Loi The Lover older $11.99 27 74% 810 $9.7k (exactly $9,712) Insatiable Game Studio
Nimbusfall older $5.99 48 87% 1.4k $8.6k (exactly $8,626) GodziPixel
Lab Inspect older $4.99 37 86% 1.1k $5.5k (exactly $5,539) 8BITLAB
Taram Baba $4.00 15 93% 450 $1.8k (exactly $1,800) Sofa Interactive
Cat Survivors $4.99 8 87% 240 $1.2k (exactly $1,198) Ibon Studios
Goblin Assault: Tower Defense · EA $4.99 6 16% 180 $898 (exactly $898) Hard Shark Games
Grave Dodgers $7.99 2 50% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Chuhai Labs, VITEI BACKROOM Inc.
Friends With Traitors $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Kai John Kutsy-Durbin
Regotown $2.99 3 66% 90 $269 (exactly $269) GolGrot
Hellgame: Prologue $3.99 2 50% 60 $239 (exactly $239) Jack Rhodan, Realscape Games
포포의 모험 (The Adventures of Popo) $2.99 1 100% 30 $90 (exactly $90) 토파가넷

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