Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Magic

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Magic 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter + Magic

Of 42 developers who shipped a Magic 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.. 73 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $300 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 26 developers shipped in the last year and 73 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 150% on the market, 73 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + Magic
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 42
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $238 → $4.3k → $898 → $180 → $299 → $1.2k → $269 (still earning) → $600 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + Magic: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 42
Bottom 30% $120 (exactly $120)
Median $299 (exactly $299)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,246)
Top 5% $18k (exactly $18,438)
Developers, 2 yr 42
Released games 135
Announced 73
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 150% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 20%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

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
Magic
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
2D Fighter; 6 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, Pixel Graphics, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 406 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $300, 1 in 4 over $2.2k, 1 in 20 over $18k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. Nearly all of the 20 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 73 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Fighter with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RomanceStrong odds8 devs · median $4.0k · 6 announced
  2. + Visual NovelFair11 devs · median $4.0k · 12 announced
  3. + Card BattlerFair10 devs · median $1.0k · 11 announced
  4. + DeckbuildingFair17 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  5. + Auto BattlerFair16 devs · median $719 · 19 announced
  6. + IdlerFair9 devs · median $599 · 18 announced
  7. + RhythmFair10 devs · median $599 · 12 announced
  8. + SimulationFair51 devs · median $598 · 55 announced
  9. + IncrementalFair16 devs · median $538 · 13 announced
  10. + ManagementFair10 devs · median $449 · 14 announced
  11. + SuperheroLong shot11 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  12. + Resource ManagementLong shot13 devs · median $390 · 14 announced

All 129 pairs on the 2D Fighter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Them's Fightin' Herds 2020 · $2.0M Estella's Nightmare: Sealed Space and a Succubus's Curse 2022 · $153k Demon Sword: Incubus 2022 · $110k Tower Walker: MMO Grind Simulator 2023 · $81k AQUAPAZZA: Aquaplus Dream Match 2025 · $62k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Them's Fightin' Herds older $19.99 3,297 83% 99k $2.0M (exactly $1,977,211) Mane6, Inc.
Estella's Nightmare: Sealed Space and a Succubus's Curse older $9.99 512 70% 15k $153k (exactly $153,446) Playmeow
Demon Sword: Incubus older $19.99 184 76% 5.5k $110k (exactly $110,345) Brianode
Tower Walker: MMO Grind Simulator older $9.99 270 77% 8.1k $81k (exactly $80,919) Raptor Claw Games, Millendream
AQUAPAZZA: Aquaplus Dream Match $19.99 104 33% 3.1k $62k (exactly $62,369) AQUAPLUS
Hollow's Land older $4.99 195 66% 5.9k $29k (exactly $29,192) Relax Minimalism
Nurose · EA older $9.99 90 87% 2.7k $27k (exactly $26,973) Orongto
The Legend of Yan Loong 1+2 older $12.99 61 57% 1.8k $24k (exactly $23,772) Creetor
Blueblood Arena · EA $8.99 88 96% 2.6k $24k (exactly $23,734) Team Blueblood
The Amazing Crackpots Club! $14.99 41 95% 1.2k $18k (exactly $18,438) Astrobard Games, IguanaBee
Luctus $9.99 56 94% 1.7k $17k (exactly $16,783) Mriya Game Studio
Astropods: Starside Glaze $12.50 28 100% 840 $11k (exactly $10,500) CheesiMoon, Breadbinbran
MAGE: Mega Awesome Gregarious Encounters $9.99 29 89% 870 $8.7k (exactly $8,691) FunRug Studio
WIZARD PUNKS!!! $6.99 23 95% 690 $4.8k (exactly $4,823) EyeOfStormCat
The Orc Invasion $10.99 13 92% 390 $4.3k (exactly $4,286) ATK Games
Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster $14.99 9 55% 270 $4.0k (exactly $4,047) Dormidin Studio
Starkheim Tournament · EA $7.99 15 93% 450 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Project MOX

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.