Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + 2D Platformer
Should I ship a 2D Platformer Beat 'em up?
Beat 'em up + 2D Platformer
Of 110 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Beat 'em up 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.. 169 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×347 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 169 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $60 (exactly $60) |
|---|---|
| Median | $748 (exactly $748) |
| Top 25% | $9.3k (exactly $9,291) |
| Top 5% | $165k (exactly $164,803) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 110 |
| Released games | 369 |
| Announced | 169 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 up 80% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 10%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Beat 'em up
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- 2D Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Beat 'em up, 2D Platformer; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Platformer
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Pixel Graphics, Side Scroller
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 91% positive over 12,972 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $60. 8 in 10 of the 58 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 169 games are announced against 61 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Beat 'em up with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + RhythmFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + NinjaLong shot
- + Combat RacingLong shot
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + LootPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2021 · $6.5M 
Stick It to the Stickman 2025 · EA · $2.8M 
PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY 2025 · $1.9M 
Gensokyo Night Festival 2019 · EA · $1.8M 
Guacamelee! 2 2018 · $1.6M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl | older | $49.99 | 4,311 75% | 129k | $6.5M (exactly $6,465,207) | Ludosity, Fair Play Labs |
| | Stick It to the Stickman | · EA | $11.99 | 7,918 96% | 238k | $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) | Free Lives |
| | PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY | $29.99 | 2,091 83% | 63k | $1.9M (exactly $1,881,273) | SAS CO.,LTD. | |
| | Gensokyo Night Festival | · EA older | $12.99 | 4,497 69% | 135k | $1.8M (exactly $1,752,481) | WSS playground, tea_basira |
| | Guacamelee! 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,711 91% | 81k | $1.6M (exactly $1,625,787) | Drinkbox Studios |
 | Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef | older | $19.99 | 2,586 87% | 78k | $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) | Rogueside |
 | Gravity Circuit | older | $16.99 | 3,028 94% | 91k | $1.5M (exactly $1,543,372) | Domesticated Ant Games |
 | Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 | older | $49.99 | 1,013 81% | 30k | $1.5M (exactly $1,519,196) | Fair Play Labs |
 | Battletoads | older | $19.99 | 2,111 68% | 63k | $1.3M (exactly $1,265,967) | Dlala Studios |
 | Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition | older | $14.99 | 2,633 93% | 79k | $1.2M (exactly $1,184,060) | Drinkbox Studios |
 | Nitro Express | $12.99 | 1,069 75% | 32k | $417k (exactly $416,589) | Grayfax Software | |
 | Kong: Survivor Instinct | $24.99 | 338 71% | 10k | $253k (exactly $253,399) | 7Levels | |
 | Advent NEON® | $19.99 | 300 98% | 9.0k | $180k (exactly $179,910) | CryoGX | |
 | Double Dragon Revive | $34.99 | 157 63% | 4.7k | $165k (exactly $164,803) | YUKE’S | |
 | Arisen Force: HeroTest | $10.99 | 374 82% | 11k | $123k (exactly $123,308) | Lemport | |
 | Falling with Ice Phoenix! | $9.99 | 300 92% | 9.0k | $90k (exactly $89,910) | F Project | |
 | Decline's Drops | $14.99 | 170 96% | 5.1k | $76k (exactly $76,449) | Le Moulin aux Bulles | |
 | Oh So Hero! | $9.99 | 255 94% | 7.7k | $76k (exactly $76,424) | Full Frontal Frog |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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