Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Martial Arts
Should I ship a Martial-Arts 2D Fighter?
2D Fighter + Martial Arts
Of 59 developers who shipped a Martial-Arts 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.. 81 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×2.9 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $840k, ×1343 the market median. Revenue is down 75% on the market; 81 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,798) |
| Top 25% | $28k (exactly $27,891) |
| Top 5% | $843k (exactly $843,228) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 59 |
| Released games | 167 |
| Announced | 81 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 75% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, 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
- Martial Arts
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- 2D Fighter; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Combat
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Retro, Cartoon
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 80% positive over 8,949 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 81 games are announced against 32 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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 1 2023 · $51M 
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game 2026 · $3.0M 
One Finger Death Punch 2014 · $1.9M 
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection 2025 · $1.8M | 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 1 | older | $49.99 | 34,197 74% | 1.0M | $51M (exactly $51,285,241) | NetherRealm Studios, QLOC |
| | Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game | $29.99 | 3,298 85% | 99k | $3.0M (exactly $2,967,211) | Gameplay Group International | |
| | One Finger Death Punch | older | $4.99 | 12,548 97% | 376k | $1.9M (exactly $1,878,436) | Silver Dollar Games |
| | Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection | $49.99 | 1,214 63% | 36k | $1.8M (exactly $1,820,636) | Digital Eclipse | |
 | One Finger Death Punch 2 | older | $7.99 | 3,717 96% | 112k | $891k (exactly $890,965) | Silver Dollar Games |
 | Little Fighter 2 Remastered | $15.88 | 1,770 76% | 53k | $843k (exactly $843,228) | Little Fighter Co Pty Ltd, Marti Wong | |
 | Waifu Fighter | older | $7.99 | 2,677 86% | 80k | $642k (exactly $641,677) | Happy Monster Studio |
 | First Cut: Samurai Duel | older | $8.99 | 1,986 88% | 60k | $536k (exactly $535,624) | Night Eyes Interactive |
 | 9 Monkeys of Shaolin | older | $19.99 | 726 84% | 22k | $435k (exactly $435,382) | Sobaka Studio |
 | Iron Saga VS | $29.99 | 376 79% | 11k | $338k (exactly $338,287) | Gameduchy | |
 | Forestrike | $9.99 | 920 91% | 28k | $276k (exactly $275,724) | Skeleton Crew Studio, Thomas Olsson | |
 | Backpack Jianghu | $13.99 | 565 80% | 17k | $237k (exactly $237,130) | 背包工作室 | |
 | Poetry of Blood: Eclipse | · EA | $14.99 | 406 91% | 12k | $183k (exactly $182,578) | ZeroGameStudio |
 | Baki Hanma: Blood Arena | $29.99 | 138 76% | 4.1k | $124k (exactly $124,159) | Purple Tree S R L | |
 | Terrordrome - Reign of the Legends | $19.99 | 168 72% | 5.0k | $101k (exactly $100,750) | Huracan Studio | |
 | IGS Classic Arcade Collection | $29.99 | 94 60% | 2.8k | $85k (exactly $84,572) | IGS(台灣鈊象電子) |
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.