Do I ship it?

Games2D Fighter2D Fighter + Precision Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Precision Platformer 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter + Precision Platformer

Of 29 developers who shipped a Precision Platformer 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.. 22 more are announced.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $540, ×0.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $32k, ×51 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 22 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 22 announced, ×1.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + Precision Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $30 → $359 → $1.6k → $776 → $416 → $539 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + Precision Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $30 (exactly $30)
Median $539 (exactly $539)
Top 25% $1.6k (exactly $1,556)
Top 5% $32k (exactly $32,224)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 85
Announced 22
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $5.99

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 70% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 16%, 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
Precision Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
2D Fighter, Precision Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Platformer
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cartoony, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 89% positive over 360 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $540, 1 in 4 over $1.5k, 1 in 20 over $32k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Fighter with a different second tag, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
BlazBlue Entropy Effect older $19.99 30,410 94% 912k $18M (exactly $18,236,877) 91Act
You are Peter Shorts older $14.99 194 90% 5.8k $87k (exactly $87,242) ondydev
Decline's Drops $14.99 170 96% 5.1k $76k (exactly $76,449) Le Moulin aux Bulles
Ritter & Rotwein $12.49 86 68% 2.6k $32k (exactly $32,224) Hurdy-Gurdy Games
Happenlance older $19.99 39 92% 1.2k $23k (exactly $23,388) Miles Fogle, Phillip Trudeau-Tavara, Cy… (Miles Fogle, Phillip Trudeau-Tavara, Cyborg Primate)
Skullbreaker $29.99 13 92% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Sharkgame
Dragon Climax older $3.99 89 80% 2.7k $11k (exactly $10,653) SEEP
Pixel Pirate older $24.99 14 78% 420 $10k (exactly $10,496) Stas Paty9mkin
Galactic Thunderdome $9.99 35 100% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Pansimula
Blade Jumper older $6.99 27 81% 810 $5.7k (exactly $5,662) bit paradigm
Hammer of Pain $10.99 10 80% 300 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) SleepingFrog
Dream Adventurer $19.99 4 100% 120 $2.4k (exactly $2,399) Spring Tree Work
Nice To Yeet You · EA $5.99 13 100% 390 $2.3k (exactly $2,336) Empty Bottle
KBF: Knight Bar Fight $3.99 13 100% 390 $1.6k (exactly $1,556) KBF Team
Boiiing Boiiing $6.99 5 100% 150 $1.0k (exactly $1,048) SLMB's Games
Pirate Guy $2.99 11 81% 330 $987 (exactly $987) Cow Games

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