Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Historical
Should I ship a Historical 2D Fighter?
2D Fighter + Historical
Only 17 developers shipped a Historical 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, Two Strikes, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $110k, ×183 the market median. Revenue is up 310% on the market; 20 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $598 (exactly $598) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $3.6k (exactly $3,591) |
| Top 5% | $115k (exactly $115,123) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 58 |
| Announced | 20 |
| 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 up 310% on the market, supply 45% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, 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
- Historical
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 2D Fighter; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, 2D Platformer
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Hand-drawn, Atmospheric
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 83% positive over 460 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. 9 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 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
First Cut: Samurai Duel 2024 · $536k 
SAMURAI SHODOWN NEOGEO COLLECTION 2020 · $444k 
Stickman Trenches 2023 · $345k 
Boxing School 2019 · $155k 
Listen to the Wind 2021 · $151k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | First Cut: Samurai Duel | older | $8.99 | 1,986 88% | 60k | $536k (exactly $535,624) | Night Eyes Interactive |
| | SAMURAI SHODOWN NEOGEO COLLECTION | older | $39.99 | 370 81% | 11k | $444k (exactly $443,889) | DIGITAL ECLIPSE |
| | Stickman Trenches | older | $5.99 | 1,922 81% | 58k | $345k (exactly $345,383) | Big Play Games |
| | Boxing School | older | $9.99 | 516 89% | 15k | $155k (exactly $154,645) | Raptor Claw Games |
| | Listen to the Wind | older | $11.99 | 421 73% | 13k | $151k (exactly $151,434) | Papertiger Studio |
 | Two Strikes | $14.99 | 256 89% | 7.7k | $115k (exactly $115,123) | Retro Reactor | |
 | The Making of Karateka | older | $19.99 | 119 98% | 3.6k | $71k (exactly $71,364) | Digital Eclipse |
 | Story of a Gladiator | older | $10.99 | 177 75% | 5.3k | $58k (exactly $58,357) | Brain Seal Ltd |
 | Asterix & Obelix Slap Them All! 2 | older | $24.99 | 73 79% | 2.2k | $55k (exactly $54,728) | Mr. Nutz Studio |
 | Gladiator School | older | $4.99 | 297 69% | 8.9k | $44k (exactly $44,461) | Raptor Claw Games |
 | Ritter & Rotwein | $12.49 | 86 68% | 2.6k | $32k (exactly $32,224) | Hurdy-Gurdy Games | |
 | River City Saga: Journey to the West | $19.99 | 20 65% | 600 | $12k (exactly $11,994) | Arc System Works, UnitePlus | |
 | Nazar | $9.99 | 12 75% | 360 | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) | Eray Dinc Studio, Recontact Games | |
 | the Shadow of Swallow | $3.99 | 30 76% | 900 | $3.6k (exactly $3,591) | Raine Studio | |
 | Rayadillo | · EA | $2.99 | 25 84% | 750 | $2.2k (exactly $2,242) | Rayadillo Games |
 | Moccoletti | $9.99 | 7 100% | 210 | $2.1k (exactly $2,098) | Consortium of Octopus | |
 | Ricochet Rodeo | $4.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) | Echidna Studios | |
 | Parable Academy | $9.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) | Snuffysam Media | |
 | Pirate Guy | $2.99 | 11 81% | 330 | $987 (exactly $987) | Cow Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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