Do I ship it?

GamesFightingFighting + 2D Platformer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a 2D Platformer Fighting game?

Fighting + 2D Platformer

Of 36 developers who shipped a 2D Platformer Fighting 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.. 45 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×1.5 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $330k, ×225 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 45 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 90% on the market, 45 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Fighting + 2D Platformer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 36
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $358 → $297 → $9.0k → $7.2k → $2.3k → $479 (still earning) → $359 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Fighting + 2D Platformer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 36
Bottom 30% $479 (exactly $479)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,246)
Top 25% $11k (exactly $10,500)
Top 5% $337k (exactly $337,031)
Developers, 2 yr 36
Released games 134
Announced 45
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $6.99

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 down 90% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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.

Fighting
effort 7 / 10 · low · frame data, hitboxes and rollback netcode
2D Platformer
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Fighting, 2D Platformer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Fighter, PvP
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 9,411 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $480, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $10k, 1 in 20 over $330k.

3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 45 games are announced against 20 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Fighting with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + SandboxStrong odds11 devs · median $76k · 8 announced
  2. + Score AttackLong shot13 devs · median $599 · 11 announced
  3. + Open WorldPoor odds12 devs · median $117k · 26 announced
  4. + Dark FantasyPoor odds11 devs · median $56k · 23 announced
  5. + Souls-likePoor odds8 devs · median $24k · 20 announced
  6. + SwordplayPoor odds13 devs · median $13k · 33 announced
  7. + HistoricalPoor odds9 devs · median $13k · 16 announced
  8. + CyberpunkPoor odds5 devs · median $9.6k · 18 announced
  9. + Local Co-OpPoor odds41 devs · median $9.4k · 45 announced
  10. + Co-opPoor odds45 devs · median $9.0k · 64 announced
  11. + Hack and SlashPoor odds29 devs · median $8.7k · 60 announced
  12. + AdventurePoor odds44 devs · median $7.2k · 104 announced

All 67 pairs on the Fighting page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R older $49.99 14,344 91% 430k $22M (exactly $21,511,697) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
ROUNDS older $5.99 35,738 95% 1.1M $6.4M (exactly $6,422,119) Landfall
Rivals of Aether II $29.99 6,980 78% 209k $6.3M (exactly $6,279,906) Aether Studios
Battletoads older $19.99 2,111 68% 63k $1.3M (exactly $1,265,967) Dlala Studios
Spiritfall older $19.99 1,844 92% 55k $1.1M (exactly $1,105,847) Gentle Giant
Moonscars older $19.99 1,214 82% 36k $728k (exactly $728,036) Black Mermaid
Unruly Heroes older $19.99 763 74% 23k $458k (exactly $457,571) Magic Design Studios
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII GLOBAL MATCH $19.99 562 55% 17k $337k (exactly $337,031) SAFARI GAMES
Roof Rage older $14.99 576 89% 17k $259k (exactly $259,027) Early Melon
Smack Studio older $14.99 522 85% 16k $235k (exactly $234,743) ThirdPixel Interactive
Smack Talk $5.99 867 96% 26k $156k (exactly $155,800) Monchii Studio
IGNOBLE $6.99 331 82% 9.9k $69k (exactly $69,411) Retromagine
Knock'Em Out $7.99 239 85% 7.2k $57k (exactly $57,288) BBear Studio
DaemonBride:ADDITIONAL GAIN $19.99 94 82% 2.8k $56k (exactly $56,372) Team Arcana, Kizawaya
Chaos Faction Legacy Collection $4.99 234 93% 7.0k $35k (exactly $35,030) George "EON" Eade
The Amazing Crackpots Club! $14.99 41 95% 1.2k $18k (exactly $18,438) Astrobard Games, IguanaBee
Astropods: Starside Glaze $12.50 28 100% 840 $11k (exactly $10,500) CheesiMoon, Breadbinbran
Galactic Thunderdome $9.99 35 100% 1.1k $10k (exactly $10,490) Pansimula

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