Do I ship it?

Games2D Fighter2D Fighter + War

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a War 2D Fighter?

2D Fighter + War

Only 9 developers shipped a War 2D Fighter 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, The Orc Invasion, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450, ×0.7 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $4.2k, ×6.8 the market median. Momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games; 28 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.7 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 28 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
2D Fighter + War
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 9
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.8k → $1.3k → $2.2k (still earning) → $450 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 2D Fighter + War: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 9
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $450 (exactly $450)
Top 25% $2.2k (exactly $2,242)
Top 5% $4.3k (exactly $4,286)
Developers, 2 yr 9
Released games 50
Announced 28
Effort 6 / 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 700% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 22%, 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
War
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
2D Fighter
Price point
$4.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $10.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 2,687 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 $450, 1 in 4 over $2.2k, 1 in 20 over $4.2k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 28 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

2D Fighter with a different setting or mood, 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Stickman Trenches older $5.99 1,922 81% 58k $345k (exactly $345,383) Big Play Games
SHIPS AT WAR · EA older $14.99 369 76% 11k $166k (exactly $165,939) Golddorf Spieleentwicklung
3D Chess older $4.99 130 52% 3.9k $19k (exactly $19,461) bumblebee
The Mythical City 4 older $49.99 10 100% 300 $15k (exactly $14,997) Gamesforgames
Black Beacon Hill older $7.99 48 100% 1.4k $12k (exactly $11,506) Kowloon Drop Bear
Middle Age Conquest older $6.99 38 76% 1.1k $8.0k (exactly $7,969) Musa GUNGOR
The Orc Invasion $10.99 13 92% 390 $4.3k (exactly $4,286) ATK Games
Missile Tank older $9.99 14 78% 420 $4.2k (exactly $4,196) HEG Games
Sword of Destiny older $0.99 131 87% 3.9k $3.9k (exactly $3,891) Talha Emre Gülap
Emoji Wars $9.99 12 91% 360 $3.6k (exactly $3,596) Total
Rayadillo · EA $2.99 25 84% 750 $2.2k (exactly $2,242) Rayadillo Games
Shield Operator $4.99 10 50% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Puantaun Studio
Knaights $14.99 1 100% 30 $450 (exactly $450) Jeremiah Zagala
Humans Vs Orcs $4.99 2 0% 60 $299 (exactly $299) ShakyHand
Magnetar $1.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) Pierz Newton-John
Tretrais · EA $3.00 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) DJAS Games
Chicken Battlefield $7.99 0 0% 0 $0 (exactly $0) chickenbattlefielddevs

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