Do I ship it?

Games › 3D Fighter › 3D Fighter + Arena Shooter

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an Arena Shooter 3D Fighter?

3D Fighter + Arena Shooter

Of 50 developers who shipped an Arena Shooter 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.. 80 more are announced, ×3.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $89 in the last 2 years and $120 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 24 developers shipped in the last year and 80 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.1 times the market baseline, revenue up 260% on the market, 80 announced, ×3.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
3D Fighter + Arena Shooter
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 50
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $356 → $150 → $90 → $298 → $60 → $89 → $60 (still earning) → $1.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 3D Fighter + Arena Shooter: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 50
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $89 (exactly $89)
Top 25% $479 (exactly $479)
Top 5% $2.6k (exactly $2,637)
Developers, 2 yr 50
Released games 177
Announced 80
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $3.99

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 260% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 28%, 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.

3D Fighter
effort 7 / 10 · low · 3D hit volumes plus the fighting-game tuning load
Arena Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
3D Fighter, Arena Shooter; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Arcade
Price point
$3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.

The top 10 games average 90% positive over 464 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 $89, 1 in 4 over $470, 1 in 20 over $2.6k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. Nearly all of the 41 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 80 games are announced against 24 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.3 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

3D Fighter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + ManagementFair11 devs · median $3.1k · 15 announced
  2. + Female ProtagonistFair34 devs · median $2.1k · 42 announced
  3. + Walking SimulatorFair17 devs · median $1.2k · 3 announced
  4. + Choose Your Own AdventureLong shot17 devs · median $1.0k · 20 announced
  5. + RhythmLong shot9 devs · median $898 · 8 announced
  6. + CollectathonLong shot15 devs · median $598 · 6 announced
  7. + ModernLong shot12 devs · median $539 · 10 announced
  8. + SimulationLong shot83 devs · median $538 · 96 announced
  9. + FightingPoor odds55 devs · median $5.0k · 87 announced
  10. + WrestlingPoor odds11 devs · median $2.3k · 21 announced
  11. + Life SimPoor odds10 devs · median $2.1k · 21 announced
  12. + HistoricalPoor odds14 devs · median $1.6k · 25 announced

All 126 pairs on the 3D Fighter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Obama Boss Fight 2021 · $57k Cyberpunk SFX 2026 · $55k Gamble Fight Plus 2019 · $45k Vienkiemis 2026 · EA · $17k Tank Royale 2019 · EA · $15k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Obama Boss Fight older $2.99 640 95% 19k $57k (exactly $57,408) xXx_Skipper_xXx
Cyberpunk SFX $9.99 183 83% 5.5k $55k (exactly $54,845) Whale Rock Games
Gamble Fight Plus older $9.99 149 51% 4.5k $45k (exactly $44,655) One Man Army
Vienkiemis · EA $12.99 44 100% 1.3k $17k (exactly $17,147) dssob, SMEIVIS
Tank Royale · EA older $9.99 50 88% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) BSS company
Kindred Fates: Combat Arena older $44.99 9 88% 270 $12k (exactly $12,147) Skymill Studios
CPU Invaders - 3i Atlas $4.99 77 98% 2.3k $12k (exactly $11,527) Microblast Games
69 Ways to Kill a Zombie older $4.99 70 64% 2.1k $10k (exactly $10,479) Wadup Games
Primordial Pain older $4.99 39 94% 1.2k $5.8k (exactly $5,838) Jan Malitschek
Valor older $7.99 19 89% 570 $4.6k (exactly $4,554) Open Mid Interactive
Mineral Madness $7.99 11 90% 330 $2.6k (exactly $2,637) Whacky Mole Studio
Project RAZE: Fall of Terra · EA $9.99 7 100% 210 $2.1k (exactly $2,098) FearForge Studios
CPU Invaders - Aim Hero $0.99 53 100% 1.6k $1.6k (exactly $1,574) Microblast Games
CPU Invaders - Movie Attack $0.99 42 100% 1.3k $1.2k (exactly $1,247) Microblast Games
FPV PVP · EA $19.99 2 50% 60 $1.2k (exactly $1,199) EverLifeLab
Forest $3.99 10 0% 300 $1.2k (exactly $1,197) Ihor Lema
MEMOLOGY: ESCAPE OF MEMES $0.99 35 91% 1.1k $1.0k (exactly $1,040) Gamesforfarm, Piece Of Voxel

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