Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Exploration
Should I ship an Exploration 2D Fighter?
2D Fighter + Exploration
Of 41 developers who shipped an Exploration 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.. 97 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $330 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 21 developers shipped in the last year and 97 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $449 (exactly $449) |
| Top 25% | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) |
| Top 5% | $22k (exactly $22,128) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 41 |
| Released games | 143 |
| Announced | 97 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 65% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Exploration
- 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, Exploration; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Hand-drawn
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 5,202 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 97 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 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
Path of Kung Fu 2025 · $2.2M 
Nocturnal 2023 · $260k 
RitualSummon 2022 · $88k 
极乐不羡仙 2025 · $29k 
The Rumble Fish 2 2022 · $26k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Path of Kung Fu | $14.99 | 4,880 72% | 146k | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,536) | 游鲤化龙工作室 | |
| | Nocturnal | older | $16.99 | 511 90% | 15k | $260k (exactly $260,457) | Sunnyside Games |
| | RitualSummon | older | $10.99 | 267 76% | 8.0k | $88k (exactly $88,030) | WhitePeach |
| | 极乐不羡仙 | $5.99 | 164 65% | 4.9k | $29k (exactly $29,471) | 仙常居ソフト | |
| | The Rumble Fish 2 | older | $14.99 | 58 50% | 1.7k | $26k (exactly $26,083) | 株式会社3goo |
 | face the immortal | · EA | $17.99 | 41 92% | 1.2k | $22k (exactly $22,128) | DY |
 | Morkull Ragast's Rage | $17.99 | 39 69% | 1.2k | $21k (exactly $21,048) | Disaster Games | |
 | Bad Cat | older | $9.99 | 68 83% | 2.0k | $20k (exactly $20,380) | FastGame, VICTORIA Games |
 | 东方十昊狱 ～ Hella Dazzling Hell!! | · EA older | $9.99 | 58 67% | 1.7k | $17k (exactly $17,383) | Lonhong Team |
 | Type or Die | $13.99 | 29 31% | 870 | $12k (exactly $12,171) | Type or Die | |
 | Just Keep Digging | $9.99 | 16 87% | 480 | $4.8k (exactly $4,795) | Relt | |
 | Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster | $14.99 | 9 55% | 270 | $4.0k (exactly $4,047) | Dormidin Studio | |
 | Stepfight | $9.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | Gamesforgames | |
 | Dream Adventurer | $19.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $2.4k (exactly $2,399) | Spring Tree Work | |
 | Fight.EXE | $7.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $2.4k (exactly $2,397) | SolidValentine |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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