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Should I ship an Online Co-Op 2D Fighter?
Online Co-Op + 2D Fighter
Of 29 developers who shipped an Online Co-Op 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.. 57 more are announced, ×4.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 8 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, ×0.3 the market's $1.5k for a 8 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120. 57 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper, while revenue is up 225% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $479 (exactly $479) |
| Top 25% | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) |
| Top 5% | $881k (exactly $880,580) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 29 |
| Released games | 86 |
| Announced | 57 |
| Effort | 8 / 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 225% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 28%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Online Co-Op
- effort 8 / 10 · low · netcode, lobbies and state sync across machines
- 2D Fighter
- effort 5 / 10 · low · frame-precise animation and rollback netcode
What it takes
- Effort
- 8 / 10 · online systems, open world
- Systems
- Online Co-Op, 2D Fighter; 9 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Co-op, PvP
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Pixel Graphics, Family Friendly, Retro
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 6,588 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 8 in 10 of the 18 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Online Co-Op with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Bullet HeavenStrong odds
- + Escape RoomFair
- + TypingFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Point & ClickFair
- + Extraction ShooterPoor odds
- + TransportationPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + World War IIPoor odds
- + City BuilderPoor odds
- + LGBTQ+Poor odds
Comparable games
Injustice™ 2 2017 · $26M 
Mortal Kombat X 2015 · $24M 
Stick Fight: The Game 2017 · $15M 
Bopl Battle 2023 · $6.5M 
Invincible VS 2026 · $4.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 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 |
| | Stick Fight: The Game | older | $4.99 | 99,952 93% | 3.0M | $15M (exactly $14,962,814) | Landfall West |
| | Bopl Battle | older | $9.99 | 21,530 97% | 646k | $6.5M (exactly $6,452,541) | Johan Grönvall |
| | Invincible VS | $49.99 | 3,031 76% | 91k | $4.5M (exactly $4,545,591) | Quarter Up | |
 | MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics | older | $49.99 | 1,976 93% | 59k | $3.0M (exactly $2,963,407) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | Lethal League Blaze | older | $19.99 | 4,767 97% | 143k | $2.9M (exactly $2,858,770) | Team Reptile |
 | SpiderHeck | older | $14.99 | 3,922 93% | 118k | $1.8M (exactly $1,763,723) | Neverjam |
 | Lethal League | older | $13.99 | 2,967 95% | 89k | $1.2M (exactly $1,245,250) | Team Reptile |
 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection | older | $39.99 | 789 87% | 24k | $947k (exactly $946,563) | Digital Eclipse |
 | Capcom Fighting Collection 2 | $39.99 | 734 85% | 22k | $881k (exactly $880,580) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | A Few Quick Matches | $6.99 | 2,475 85% | 74k | $519k (exactly $519,008) | Studio Bidou | |
 | Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate | $24.99 | 205 84% | 6.2k | $154k (exactly $153,688) | Rocket Panda Games Japan | |
 | Oblin Party | $7.99 | 85 91% | 2.6k | $20k (exactly $20,374) | Tellus Games | |
 | MAGE: Mega Awesome Gregarious Encounters | $9.99 | 29 89% | 870 | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) | FunRug Studio | |
 | MapGod | $4.99 | 11 100% | 330 | $1.6k (exactly $1,647) | Tallol Games | |
 | Danmaku Fighters | · EA | $12.99 | 4 100% | 120 | $1.6k (exactly $1,559) | Baby Bear Fish |
 | Little Fighters on Stream | $3.99 | 9 88% | 270 | $1.1k (exactly $1,077) | TEAM Black Hat Robot | |
 | Boiiing Boiiing | $6.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $1.0k (exactly $1,048) | SLMB's Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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