Games › 3D Fighter › 3D Fighter + Arcade
Should I ship an Arcade 3D Fighter?
3D Fighter + Arcade
Of 103 developers who shipped an Arcade 3D Fighter 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.. 139 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $540, ×0.4 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 139 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper, while revenue is down 55% on the market.
| Bottom 30% | $148 (exactly $148) |
|---|---|
| Median | $539 (exactly $539) |
| Top 25% | $2.1k (exactly $2,063) |
| Top 5% | $76k (exactly $75,745) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 103 |
| Released games | 417 |
| Announced | 139 |
| Effort | 7 / 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 down 55% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.
Free games: 23%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- 3D Fighter
- effort 7 / 10 · low · 3D hit volumes plus the fighting-game tuning load
- Arcade
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- 3D Fighter, Arcade; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Fighting
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $17.99 or above
- Art
- 3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Third Person, Funny
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $17.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 12,861 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 69 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 139 games are announced against 50 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
3D Fighter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + ManagementFair
- + Female ProtagonistFair
- + Walking SimulatorFair
- + Choose Your Own AdventureLong shot
- + RhythmLong shot
- + CollectathonLong shot
- + ModernLong shot
- + SimulationLong shot
- + FightingPoor odds
- + WrestlingPoor odds
- + Life SimPoor odds
- + HistoricalPoor odds
Comparable games
TEKKEN 7 2017 · $82M 
TEKKEN 8 2024 · $55M 
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R 2022 · $22M 
SOULCALIBUR VI 2018 · $18M 
Street Fighter V 2016 · $17M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | TEKKEN 7 | older | $39.99 | 68,063 83% | 2.0M | $82M (exactly $81,655,181) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc. |
| | TEKKEN 8 | older | $39.99 | 46,009 56% | 1.4M | $55M (exactly $55,196,997) | Bandai Namco Studios Inc. |
| | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R | older | $49.99 | 14,344 91% | 430k | $22M (exactly $21,511,697) | CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd. |
| | SOULCALIBUR VI | older | $59.99 | 9,768 83% | 293k | $18M (exactly $17,579,470) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corpor… (BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corporation) |
| | Street Fighter V | older | $19.99 | 27,820 72% | 835k | $17M (exactly $16,683,654) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. |
 | THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV | $29.99 | 8,399 83% | 252k | $7.6M (exactly $7,556,580) | SNK CORPORATION | |
 | DNF Duel | older | $49.99 | 3,693 64% | 111k | $5.5M (exactly $5,538,392) | NEOPLE Inc., Arc System Works, EIGHTING… (NEOPLE Inc., Arc System Works, EIGHTING Co., Ltd.) |
 | Hellish Quart | · EA older | $17.99 | 8,068 88% | 242k | $4.4M (exactly $4,354,300) | Kubold |
 | ONE PUNCH MAN: A HERO NOBODY KNOWS | older | $59.99 | 1,692 53% | 51k | $3.0M (exactly $3,045,092) | Spike Chunsoft Co. Ltd. |
 | AEW: Fight Forever | older | $39.99 | 1,343 59% | 40k | $1.6M (exactly $1,611,197) | YUKE'S |
 | Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage | $19.99 | 1,897 71% | 57k | $1.1M (exactly $1,137,631) | RGG Studio | |
 | Capcom Fighting Collection 2 | $39.99 | 734 85% | 22k | $881k (exactly $880,580) | CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | |
 | DEAD OR ALIVE 6 Last Round | $39.99 | 550 31% | 17k | $660k (exactly $659,835) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. | |
 | Spirit X Strike | · EA | $12.99 | 406 82% | 12k | $158k (exactly $158,218) | MAICHA STUDIO |
 | King of Bones | $7.99 | 316 85% | 9.5k | $76k (exactly $75,745) | Gluten Free Games | |
 | Pull Stay | $16.99 | 125 97% | 3.8k | $64k (exactly $63,712) | Nito Souji | |
 | ShipCrafter | · EA | $7.99 | 209 90% | 6.3k | $50k (exactly $50,097) | Myrmecoman |
 | Kraken City | $4.99 | 189 67% | 5.7k | $28k (exactly $28,293) | nStarcube | |
 | Kinky Fight Club 2 | $20.00 | 36 91% | 1.1k | $22k (exactly $21,600) | Skyflare Studios, MrZGames |
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.