Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Score Attack

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Score Attack 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter + Score Attack

Of 31 developers who shipped a Score Attack 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.. 30 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $120 in the last 2 years and $120 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 17 developers shipped in the last year and 30 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue down 100% on the market, 30 announced, ×1.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + Score Attack
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 31
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $358 → $315 → $3.6k → $269 → $0 → $0 (still earning) → $119 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + Score Attack: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 31
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $119 (exactly $119)
Top 25% $959 (exactly $959)
Top 5% $881k (exactly $880,580)
Developers, 2 yr 31
Released games 97
Announced 30
Effort 5 / 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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 14%, 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
Score Attack
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, Score Attack; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, Spectacle fighter
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $39.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2.5D, 2D, Anime
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $39.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 54% positive over 5,885 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 $120, 1 in 4 over $950, 1 in 20 over $880k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 17 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

MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls 2026 · $8.9M MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics 2024 · $3.0M Capcom Fighting Collection 2 2025 · $881k Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues 2021 · $250k Shing! 2020 · $200k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls $59.99 4,934 48% 148k $8.9M (exactly $8,879,720) ARC SYSTEM WORKS CO., LTD
MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics older $49.99 1,976 93% 59k $3.0M (exactly $2,963,407) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Capcom Fighting Collection 2 $39.99 734 85% 22k $881k (exactly $880,580) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues older $19.99 417 84% 13k $250k (exactly $250,075) Flux Games
Shing! older $19.99 334 79% 10k $200k (exactly $200,300) Mass Creation
Pulling No Punches older $9.99 563 95% 17k $169k (exactly $168,731) BrainDead Broccoli
Super Crush KO older $14.99 211 96% 6.3k $95k (exactly $94,887) Vertex Pop
DaemonBride:ADDITIONAL GAIN $19.99 94 82% 2.8k $56k (exactly $56,372) Team Arcana, Kizawaya
TERRORHYTHM (TRRT) - Rhythm driven action beat 'em up! older $19.99 47 72% 1.4k $28k (exactly $28,186) EvilCoGames
X-Out: Resurfaced $19.99 41 95% 1.2k $25k (exactly $24,588) KRITZELKRATZ 3000, Rainbow Arts
Hololive Fantasy Battle $13.00 11 90% 330 $4.3k (exactly $4,290) G-Blossom
NINJA KAMUI: SHINOBI ORIGINS $19.99 6 100% 180 $3.6k (exactly $3,598) G.rev Ltd.
CPU Invaders - Aim Hero $0.99 53 100% 1.6k $1.6k (exactly $1,574) Microblast Games
Gemion Function · EA $7.99 4 100% 120 $959 (exactly $959) Nagooyen
PropFight $4.99 4 100% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Obani
Splort $4.99 4 100% 120 $599 (exactly $599) Mikkel Jensby

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