Games › 2D Fighter › 2D Fighter + Tactical RPG
Should I ship a 2D Fighter Tactical RPG?
2D Fighter + Tactical RPG
Only 13 developers shipped a 2D Fighter Tactical RPG in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Swords and Sandals 3 Redux, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $900, ×1.4 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $600; 1 in 20 cleared $69k, ×111 the market median. Revenue is up 620% on the market; 22 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $599 (exactly $599) |
|---|---|
| Median | $899 (exactly $899) |
| Top 25% | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) |
| Top 5% | $70k (exactly $69,830) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 13 |
| Released games | 42 |
| Announced | 22 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 620% on the market, supply 150% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 17%, 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
- Tactical RPG
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
- Systems
- 2D Fighter, Tactical RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Strategy, Action, Adventure
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 82% positive over 564 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $600. All of the 9 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
2D Fighter with a different second tag, 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
Kingdom Rush Vengeance - Tower Defense 2020 · $5.9M 
The Shadow of Yidhra 2021 · $447k 
Swords and Sandals Immortals 2023 · $380k 
Swords and Sandals 2 Redux 2017 · $165k 
Swords and Sandals 3 Redux 2025 · $70k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Kingdom Rush Vengeance - Tower Defense | older | $19.99 | 9,906 93% | 297k | $5.9M (exactly $5,940,628) | Ironhide Game Studio |
| | The Shadow of Yidhra | older | $10.99 | 1,355 89% | 41k | $447k (exactly $446,744) | WhitePeach |
| | Swords and Sandals Immortals | older | $11.99 | 1,056 84% | 32k | $380k (exactly $379,843) | Whiskeybarrel Studios |
| | Swords and Sandals 2 Redux | older | $9.99 | 552 78% | 17k | $165k (exactly $165,434) | Whiskeybarrel Studios |
| | Swords and Sandals 3 Redux | $9.99 | 233 87% | 7.0k | $70k (exactly $69,830) | Whiskeybarrel Studios | |
 | Shana - Priestess of Tona | $9.99 | 190 74% | 5.7k | $57k (exactly $56,943) | Lustration Team | |
 | BANCHOU TACTICS | older | $19.99 | 93 78% | 2.8k | $56k (exactly $55,772) | SECRET CHARACTER, ITSARAAMATA |
 | Hollow's Land | older | $4.99 | 195 66% | 5.9k | $29k (exactly $29,192) | Relax Minimalism |
 | Gladiators and Glory | older | $7.99 | 57 89% | 1.7k | $14k (exactly $13,663) | Oguz Kemerli |
 | Swords and Sandals Medieval | older | $6.99 | 50 76% | 1.5k | $10k (exactly $10,485) | Whiskeybarrel Studios |
 | Soulbound Roguelike | $9.99 | 34 82% | 1.0k | $10k (exactly $10,190) | DuDu Games | |
 | The Great Axe | $19.99 | 13 84% | 390 | $7.8k (exactly $7,796) | Gamesforgames | |
 | Gold Defence | $9.99 | 20 65% | 600 | $6.0k (exactly $5,994) | Gamesforgames | |
 | Survalker | $9.99 | 14 85% | 420 | $4.2k (exactly $4,196) | Gamesforgames | |
 | Happy Piggy 2 | $9.99 | 13 100% | 390 | $3.9k (exactly $3,896) | Gamesforgames | |
 | Emoji Wars | $9.99 | 12 91% | 360 | $3.6k (exactly $3,596) | Total | |
 | Stepfight | $9.99 | 10 100% | 300 | $3.0k (exactly $2,997) | Gamesforgames | |
 | Rayadillo | · EA | $2.99 | 25 84% | 750 | $2.2k (exactly $2,242) | Rayadillo Games |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.