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Should I ship a Local Multiplayer 2D Fighter?
2D Fighter + Local Multiplayer
Of 117 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer 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.. 210 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $960, ×1.5 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $510k, ×826 the market median. Revenue is down 60% on the market; 210 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $356 (exactly $356) |
|---|---|
| Median | $959 (exactly $959) |
| Top 25% | $4.8k (exactly $4,794) |
| Top 5% | $519k (exactly $519,008) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 117 |
| Released games | 484 |
| Announced | 210 |
| 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 60% on the market, supply 30% more 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
- Local Multiplayer
- 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, Local Multiplayer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvP, Combat
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Cartoony
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 26,297 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 63 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 210 games are announced against 66 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 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
Mortal Kombat 11 2019 · $131M 
TEKKEN 7 2017 · $82M 
Street Fighter™ 6 2023 · $60M 
GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- 2021 · $57M 
Mortal Kombat 1 2023 · $51M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Mortal Kombat 11 | older | $49.99 | 87,021 88% | 2.6M | $131M (exactly $130,505,394) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC, Shiver |
| | TEKKEN 7 | older | $39.99 | 68,063 83% | 2.0M | $82M (exactly $81,655,181) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. |
| | Street Fighter™ 6 | older | $39.99 | 49,952 81% | 1.5M | $60M (exactly $59,927,414) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
| | GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- | older | $39.99 | 47,650 88% | 1.4M | $57M (exactly $57,165,705) | Arc System Works |
| | Mortal Kombat 1 | older | $49.99 | 34,197 74% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,285,241) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
 | Rivals of Aether | older | $29.99 | 33,284 96% | 999k | $30M (exactly $29,945,615) | Aether Studios |
 | Injustice™ 2 | older | $49.99 | 17,445 86% | 523k | $26M (exactly $26,162,266) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
 | 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 |
 | MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls | $59.99 | 4,934 48% | 148k | $8.9M (exactly $8,879,720) | ARC SYSTEM WORKS CO., LTD | |
 | THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV | $29.99 | 8,399 83% | 252k | $7.6M (exactly $7,556,580) | SNK CORPORATION | |
 | Rivals of Aether II | $29.99 | 6,980 78% | 209k | $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) | Aether Studios | |
 | Capcom Fighting Collection 2 | $39.99 | 734 85% | 22k | $881k (exactly $880,580) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | Little Fighter 2 Remastered | $15.88 | 1,770 76% | 53k | $843k (exactly $843,228) | Little Fighter Co Pty Ltd, Marti Wong | |
 | A Few Quick Matches | $6.99 | 2,475 85% | 74k | $519k (exactly $519,008) | Studio Bidou | |
 | Iron Saga VS | $29.99 | 376 79% | 11k | $338k (exactly $338,287) | Gameduchy | |
 | Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate | $24.99 | 205 84% | 6.2k | $154k (exactly $153,688) | Rocket Panda Games Japan | |
 | Two Strikes | $14.99 | 256 89% | 7.7k | $115k (exactly $115,123) | Retro Reactor | |
 | Terrordrome - Reign of the Legends | $19.99 | 168 72% | 5.0k | $101k (exactly $100,750) | Huracan Studio |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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