Do I ship it?

Games › 3D Fighter › 3D Fighter + Beat 'em up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Beat 'em up 3D Fighter?

3D Fighter + Beat 'em up

Of 92 developers who shipped a Beat 'em up 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.. 136 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $450 in the last 2 years and $480 over 4, against a market of $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build. 48 developers shipped in the last year and 136 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.3 times the market baseline, revenue up 10% on the market, 136 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
3D Fighter + Beat 'em up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 92
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.0k → $1.2k → $479 → $330 → $446 → $719 → $479 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for 3D Fighter + Beat 'em up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 92
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $449 (exactly $449)
Top 25% $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 5% $109k (exactly $108,864)
Developers, 2 yr 92
Released games 322
Announced 136
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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

Free games: 18%, 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
Beat 'em up
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 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, Beat 'em up; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Fighting
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Funny, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 61% positive over 4,650 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $450, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 56 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 136 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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

TEKKEN 7 2017 · $82M SOULCALIBUR VI 2018 · $18M Street Fighter V 2016 · $17M Judgment 2022 · $11M Lost Judgment 2022 · $9.0M
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.
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.
Judgment older $39.99 9,407 93% 282k $11M (exactly $11,285,578) RGG Studio
Lost Judgment older $39.99 7,461 93% 224k $9.0M (exactly $8,950,962) RGG Studio
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 3 Full Burst HD older $19.99 10,749 89% 322k $6.4M (exactly $6,446,175) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
One Piece Burning Blood older $49.99 3,751 81% 113k $5.6M (exactly $5,625,375) Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
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.)
SENRAN KAGURA ESTIVAL VERSUS older $29.99 4,986 94% 150k $4.5M (exactly $4,485,904) Tamsoft
Onee Chanbara ORIGIN older $59.99 1,217 75% 37k $2.2M (exactly $2,190,235) Tamsoft
Samson $24.99 2,911 54% 87k $2.2M (exactly $2,182,377) Liquid Swords
BLACKWOOD $24.99 565 46% 17k $424k (exactly $423,580) AttritoM7 Productions
Monster: Titan's Playground · EA $29.99 273 91% 8.2k $246k (exactly $245,618) Stellar Knights
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed $39.99 114 50% 3.4k $137k (exactly $136,766) AHEARTFULOFGAMES
LES MILLS XR BODYCOMBAT $29.99 121 85% 3.6k $109k (exactly $108,864) Odders Lab
Pull Stay $16.99 125 97% 3.8k $64k (exactly $63,712) Nito Souji
Knock'Em Out $7.99 239 85% 7.2k $57k (exactly $57,288) BBear Studio
Fighting Force Collection $19.99 84 80% 2.5k $50k (exactly $50,375) Implicit Conversions
Shaolin vs Wutang Legends · EA $19.99 64 95% 1.9k $38k (exactly $38,381) J.Bowman
Mayhemers · EA $6.99 154 84% 4.6k $32k (exactly $32,294) Anigtas

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