Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Puzzle

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Puzzle 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter + Puzzle

Of 34 developers who shipped a Puzzle 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.. 37 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $390 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 37 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 30% on the market, 37 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + Puzzle
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $416 → $719 → $90 → $624 → $240 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + Puzzle: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $389 (exactly $389)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,157)
Top 5% $17k (exactly $16,783)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 105
Announced 37
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.49

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 30% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Puzzle
effort 2 / 10 · high · discrete rules, levels are data

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
2D Fighter, Puzzle; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$6.49 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Cute, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $6.49.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 1,090 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 $390, 1 in 4 over $2.1k, 1 in 20 over $16k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. All of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

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

Capcom Fighting Collection 2022 · $731k Forestrike 2025 · $276k Nocturnal 2023 · $260k Slime Dungeon 2022 · EA · $32k 烈山海贰 2022 · $29k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Capcom Fighting Collection older $29.99 812 91% 24k $731k (exactly $730,556) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Forestrike $9.99 920 91% 28k $276k (exactly $275,724) Skeleton Crew Studio, Thomas Olsson
Nocturnal older $16.99 511 90% 15k $260k (exactly $260,457) Sunnyside Games
Slime Dungeon · EA older $29.99 36 77% 1.1k $32k (exactly $32,389) Irinkutor
烈山海贰 older $19.99 48 81% 1.4k $29k (exactly $28,786) 图纳密游戏
Bad Cat older $9.99 68 83% 2.0k $20k (exactly $20,380) FastGame, VICTORIA Games
Dead Drop older $4.99 132 81% 4.0k $20k (exactly $19,760) Ethan Waite
Luctus $9.99 56 94% 1.7k $17k (exactly $16,783) Mriya Game Studio
Vessels of Decay $17.99 24 50% 720 $13k (exactly $12,953) Simon Jakobsson, Aurora Punks
Random Heroes: Gold Edition older $4.99 86 69% 2.6k $13k (exactly $12,874) Woblyware, Somepx
Skullbreaker $29.99 13 92% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Sharkgame
EmberStride $29.99 12 91% 360 $11k (exactly $10,796) Sharkgame
Gold Defence $9.99 20 65% 600 $6.0k (exactly $5,994) Gamesforgames
Match: Isekai Journey $9.99 13 92% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) SpacePine Development
Emoji Wars $9.99 12 91% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Total
Hammer of Pain $10.99 10 80% 300 $3.3k (exactly $3,297) SleepingFrog
Stepfight $9.99 10 100% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Gamesforgames

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