Do I ship it?

Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Simulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Fighter Simulation game?

2D Fighter + Simulation

Of 51 developers who shipped a 2D Fighter Simulation game 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.. 55 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $600, level with the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $50. Revenue is up 200% on the market; 55 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 200% on the market, 55 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + Simulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 51
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.6k → $1.8k → $120 → $1.4k → $624 → $597 (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + Simulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 51
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $598 (exactly $598)
Top 25% $3.0k (exactly $2,967)
Top 5% $69k (exactly $69,411)
Developers, 2 yr 51
Released games 154
Announced 55
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 up 200% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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
Simulation
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
2D Fighter, Simulation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Strategy
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 1,639 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 $600, 1 in 4 over $2.9k, 1 in 20 over $69k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 55 games are announced against 29 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. + IncrementalFair16 devs · median $538 · 13 announced
  9. + ManagementFair10 devs · median $449 · 14 announced
  10. + SuperheroLong shot11 devs · median $959 · 12 announced
  11. + Resource ManagementLong shot13 devs · median $390 · 14 announced
  12. + Twin Stick ShooterPoor odds15 devs · median $3.1k · 28 announced

All 129 pairs on the 2D Fighter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Your Only Move Is HUSTLE 2023 · $5.8M Punch Club 2016 · $3.6M Waifu Fighter 2022 · $642k Rune Coliseum 2024 · EA · $505k Karate Master 2 Knock Down Blow 2015 · $215k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Your Only Move Is HUSTLE older $4.99 38,703 96% 1.2M $5.8M (exactly $5,793,839) Ivy Sly
Punch Club older $9.99 12,098 81% 363k $3.6M (exactly $3,625,771) Lazy Bear Games
Waifu Fighter older $7.99 2,677 86% 80k $642k (exactly $641,677) Happy Monster Studio
Rune Coliseum · EA $18.99 886 79% 27k $505k (exactly $504,754) Rafale Software
Karate Master 2 Knock Down Blow older $9.99 718 86% 22k $215k (exactly $215,185) Crian Soft
SHIPS AT WAR · EA older $14.99 369 76% 11k $166k (exactly $165,939) Golddorf Spieleentwicklung
Boxing School older $9.99 516 89% 15k $155k (exactly $154,645) Raptor Claw Games
Virtual Fighting Championship (VFC) · EA older $15.99 174 70% 5.2k $83k (exactly $83,468) L&L Technology, Yang.L
Tower Walker: MMO Grind Simulator older $9.99 270 77% 8.1k $81k (exactly $80,919) Raptor Claw Games, Millendream
Femboy Futa Mania 🌶️ $14.99 174 71% 5.2k $78k (exactly $78,248) Lewd Star
IGNOBLE $6.99 331 82% 9.9k $69k (exactly $69,411) Retromagine
Pro Wrestler Story $8.99 109 49% 3.3k $29k (exactly $29,397) Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
Boxing School 2 $14.99 41 80% 1.2k $18k (exactly $18,438) Raptor Claw Games
Heritage $9.99 44 72% 1.3k $13k (exactly $13,187) Big Three Games
Skullbreaker $29.99 13 92% 390 $12k (exactly $11,696) Sharkgame
EmberStride $29.99 12 91% 360 $11k (exactly $10,796) Sharkgame
The Great Axe $19.99 13 84% 390 $7.8k (exactly $7,796) Gamesforgames
Which Way Up: Galaxy Games $14.99 16 100% 480 $7.2k (exactly $7,195) Turtle Flip Studio

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