Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Female Protagonist
Should I ship a Female-Led 2D Fighter?
2D Fighter + Female Protagonist
Of 45 developers who shipped a Female-Led 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.. 74 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.7k, ×2.7 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $180k, ×291 the market median. Revenue is up 295% on the market; 74 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 25% | $25k (exactly $25,183) |
| Top 5% | $183k (exactly $182,578) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 45 |
| Released games | 157 |
| Announced | 74 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 up 295% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Female Protagonist
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 2D Fighter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Beat 'em up
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Anime, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 16,798 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 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
Street Fighter™ 6 2023 · $60M 
Mortal Kombat X 2015 · $24M 
SOULCALIBUR VI 2018 · $18M 
Skullgirls 2nd Encore 2013 · $17M 
Street Fighter V 2016 · $17M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Street Fighter™ 6 | older | $39.99 | 49,952 81% | 1.5M | $60M (exactly $59,927,414) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | Mortal Kombat X | older | $19.99 | 39,392 88% | 1.2M | $24M (exactly $23,623,382) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
| | SOULCALIBUR VI | older | $59.99 | 9,768 83% | 293k | $18M (exactly $17,579,470) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corpor… (BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corporation) |
| | Skullgirls 2nd Encore | older | $24.99 | 23,071 88% | 692k | $17M (exactly $17,296,329) | Hidden Variable Studios |
| | Street Fighter V | older | $19.99 | 27,820 72% | 835k | $17M (exactly $16,683,654) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV | $29.99 | 8,399 83% | 252k | $7.6M (exactly $7,556,580) | SNK CORPORATION | |
 | Granblue Fantasy: Versus | older | $19.99 | 7,631 83% | 229k | $4.6M (exactly $4,576,311) | Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works |
 | Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising | older | $24.99 | 5,944 83% | 178k | $4.5M (exactly $4,456,217) | Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works |
 | Them's Fightin' Herds | older | $19.99 | 3,297 83% | 99k | $2.0M (exactly $1,977,211) | Mane6, Inc. |
 | FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves | $19.99 | 3,135 82% | 94k | $1.9M (exactly $1,880,059) | SNK CORPORATION | |
 | SiNiSistar 2 | $14.99 | 3,545 90% | 106k | $1.6M (exactly $1,594,186) | Uu | |
 | Poetry of Blood: Eclipse | · EA | $14.99 | 406 91% | 12k | $183k (exactly $182,578) | ZeroGameStudio |
 | Halluci-Sabbat of Koishi | $7.99 | 701 91% | 21k | $168k (exactly $168,030) | ZRIGN 地霊研究院 | |
 | Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate | $24.99 | 205 84% | 6.2k | $154k (exactly $153,688) | Rocket Panda Games Japan | |
 | Decline's Drops | $14.99 | 170 96% | 5.1k | $76k (exactly $76,449) | Le Moulin aux Bulles | |
 | Age of Barbarians Chronicles | $18.99 | 101 76% | 3.0k | $58k (exactly $57,540) | Crian Soft | |
 | Trials of Valor | $18.99 | 100 95% | 3.0k | $57k (exactly $56,970) | Armored Goblin | |
 | Lady Death Demonicron | $39.99 | 36 47% | 1.1k | $43k (exactly $43,189) | Art Of Play Interactive |
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.