Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Dystopian
Should I ship a Dystopian 2D Fighter?
2D Fighter + Dystopian
Only 9 developers shipped a Dystopian 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, Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced, ×6.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $150 against a market of $630. 24 games are announced.
not enough cohorts to draw
| Bottom 30% | $30 (exactly $30) |
|---|---|
| Median | $148 (exactly $148) |
| Top 25% | $599 (exactly $599) |
| Top 5% | $87k (exactly $86,956) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 9 |
| Released games | 28 |
| Announced | 24 |
| 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 90% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, 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
- Dystopian
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 2D Fighter
- Price point
- $3.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 230 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 24 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.0 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
2D Fighter with a different setting or mood, 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
Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age 2024 · $87k 
学園ハンサムFighters 2023 · $3.0k 
UNPLUGGED 2021 · $1.8k 
Second Samurai 2022 · $1.6k 
Cyberpunch 2021 · $1.5k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age | $19.99 | 145 91% | 4.4k | $87k (exactly $86,956) | Maximum Entertainment | |
| | 学園ハンサムFighters | older | $4.99 | 20 85% | 600 | $3.0k (exactly $2,994) | Team Yokkyufuman |
| | UNPLUGGED | older | $4.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $1.8k (exactly $1,796) | omidjm |
| | Second Samurai | older | $10.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $1.6k (exactly $1,648) | Vivid Image |
| | Cyberpunch | older | $24.99 | 2 0% | 60 | $1.5k (exactly $1,499) | Dirty Pixel Art |
 | Bare Boob Brawlerz Visual Novel: Vol 1 | older | $7.99 | 6 33% | 180 | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) | X-MiGuPLAY, LLC |
 | Beauty Agent | older | $1.99 | 23 13% | 690 | $1.4k (exactly $1,373) | MAG |
 | Swimsuit Girl: Battle to Avoid | $3.99 | 10 50% | 300 | $1.2k (exactly $1,197) | 1v1combat | |
 | FukTopia 5 | older | $24.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $750 (exactly $750) | PixelArtGames |
 | Brawler | older | $3.99 | 6 66% | 180 | $718 (exactly $718) | Cobra Blade |
 | Cone Flyers Mercenaries | $4.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $599 (exactly $599) | Calvin MacCaull, Tiernan Brazil | |
 | S.S.C. Rusted | $3.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $479 (exactly $479) | Series Sun | |
 | Boomer Brawler | $0.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $148 (exactly $148) | FzzyBzzy | |
 | Blood And Blade | $3.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | ZlabiGames | |
 | Astray: Zero | $0.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $30 (exactly $30) | Little Studio | |
 | Tretrais | · EA | $3.00 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | DJAS Games |
 | ZERRE | $2.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Soloris Production |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.