Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Sci-fi
Should I ship a Sci-fi 2D Fighter?
2D Fighter + Sci-fi
Of 62 developers who shipped a Sci-fi 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.. 112 more are announced, ×2.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $180 in the last 2 years and $240 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 38 developers shipped in the last year and 112 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $179 (exactly $179) |
| Top 25% | $1.7k (exactly $1,678) |
| Top 5% | $53k (exactly $52,615) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 62 |
| Released games | 197 |
| Announced | 112 |
| 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 55% on the market, supply 60% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, 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
- Sci-fi
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 2D Fighter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, PvP
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 1,031 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 30 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 112 games are announced against 38 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.9 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
SpiderHeck 2022 · $1.8M 
The Shadow of Yidhra 2021 · $447k 
Iron Saga VS 2025 · $338k 
Himawari - The Sunflower - 2016 · $185k 
Thunder Ray 2023 · $121k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | SpiderHeck | older | $14.99 | 3,922 93% | 118k | $1.8M (exactly $1,763,723) | Neverjam |
| | The Shadow of Yidhra | older | $10.99 | 1,355 89% | 41k | $447k (exactly $446,744) | WhitePeach |
| | Iron Saga VS | $29.99 | 376 79% | 11k | $338k (exactly $338,287) | Gameduchy | |
| | Himawari - The Sunflower - | older | $34.99 | 176 88% | 5.3k | $185k (exactly $184,747) | blank-note & Frontwing |
| | Thunder Ray | older | $14.99 | 270 71% | 8.1k | $121k (exactly $121,419) | Purple Tree S R L |
 | Sora | older | $8.99 | 384 94% | 12k | $104k (exactly $103,565) | Orange_Juice |
 | Punch Planet - Early Access | · EA older | $19.99 | 171 91% | 5.1k | $103k (exactly $102,549) | Sector-K Games |
 | Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age | $19.99 | 145 91% | 4.4k | $87k (exactly $86,956) | Maximum Entertainment | |
 | Acceleration of SUGURI 2 | older | $8.99 | 283 92% | 8.5k | $76k (exactly $76,325) | Orange_Juice |
 | Swords and Sandals 3 Redux | $9.99 | 233 87% | 7.0k | $70k (exactly $69,830) | Whiskeybarrel Studios | |
 | PlatyGuard: Swarm Slayer | $14.99 | 117 74% | 3.5k | $53k (exactly $52,615) | ChillyRoom | |
 | Coreupt | $24.99 | 41 78% | 1.2k | $31k (exactly $30,738) | Team Coreupt LLC | |
 | Galactic Thunderdome | $9.99 | 35 100% | 1.1k | $10k (exactly $10,490) | Pansimula | |
 | Immortal Joan: Cyber Revolution | $6.99 | 47 46% | 1.4k | $9.9k (exactly $9,856) | 康师傅红烧甜不辣 | |
 | Heatwave | $10.00 | 21 95% | 630 | $6.3k (exactly $6,300) | Monochromesoft | |
 | Pulsar Crash | $14.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $4.5k (exactly $4,497) | Little Doctor Games | |
 | NINJA KAMUI: SHINOBI ORIGINS | $19.99 | 6 100% | 180 | $3.6k (exactly $3,598) | G.rev Ltd. |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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