Games › 4 Player Local › 4 Player Local + Beat 'em up
Should I ship a 4 Player Local Beat 'em up?
4 Player Local + Beat 'em up
Of 30 developers who shipped a 4 Player Local 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.. 67 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $8.7k, ×18 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $720; 1 in 20 cleared $840k, ×1775 the market median. Revenue is down 90% on the market; 67 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $719 (exactly $719) |
|---|---|
| Median | $8.7k (exactly $8,691) |
| Top 25% | $19k (exactly $18,887) |
| Top 5% | $843k (exactly $843,228) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 30 |
| Released games | 159 |
| Announced | 67 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
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 15% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- 4 Player Local
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Beat 'em up
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- 4 Player Local, Beat 'em up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Co-Op, Local Multiplayer
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Retro, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 78% positive over 13,939 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $720. 7 in 10 of the 19 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 67 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
4 Player Local with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Open WorldFair
- + Multiple EndingsFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Immersive SimFair
- + CatsFair
- + RhythmFair
- + ManagementPoor odds
- + Football (Soccer)Poor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + TriviaPoor odds
- + MinigamesPoor odds
- + Artificial IntelligencePoor odds
Comparable games
Castle Crashers® 2012 · $49M 
Rivals of Aether 2017 · $30M 
Road Redemption 2017 · $6.5M 
Lost Castle 2 2026 · $5.9M 
Lost Castle / 失落城堡 2016 · $5.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Castle Crashers® | older | $14.99 | 109,654 96% | 3.3M | $49M (exactly $49,311,404) | The Behemoth |
| | Rivals of Aether | older | $29.99 | 33,284 96% | 999k | $30M (exactly $29,945,615) | Aether Studios |
| | Road Redemption | older | $19.99 | 10,842 83% | 325k | $6.5M (exactly $6,501,947) | Redemption Road, Pixel Dash Studios |
| | Lost Castle 2 | $17.99 | 10,851 78% | 326k | $5.9M (exactly $5,856,285) | Hunter Studio | |
| | Lost Castle / 失落城堡 | older | $9.99 | 18,417 87% | 553k | $5.5M (exactly $5,519,575) | Hunter Studio |
 | Mother Russia Bleeds | older | $14.99 | 4,354 87% | 131k | $2.0M (exactly $1,957,994) | Le Cartel Studio |
 | Wrestling Empire | older | $19.99 | 3,036 94% | 91k | $1.8M (exactly $1,820,689) | MDickie |
 | Rubber Bandits | older | $9.99 | 5,628 84% | 169k | $1.7M (exactly $1,686,712) | Flashbulb |
 | Guacamelee! 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,711 91% | 81k | $1.6M (exactly $1,625,787) | Drinkbox Studios |
 | Scott Pilgrim vs. The World™: The Game – Complete Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,262 75% | 98k | $1.5M (exactly $1,466,921) | Engine Software, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubis… (Engine Software, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Chengdu, Ubisoft Pune Production) |
 | Little Fighter 2 Remastered | $15.88 | 1,770 76% | 53k | $843k (exactly $843,228) | Little Fighter Co Pty Ltd, Marti Wong | |
 | Scott Pilgrim EX | $28.99 | 471 85% | 14k | $410k (exactly $409,629) | Tribute Games Inc. | |
 | Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate | $24.99 | 205 84% | 6.2k | $154k (exactly $153,688) | Rocket Panda Games Japan | |
 | Knock'Em Out | $7.99 | 239 85% | 7.2k | $57k (exactly $57,288) | BBear Studio | |
 | Wendigo Blue | · EA | $9.99 | 146 90% | 4.4k | $44k (exactly $43,756) | EndlessFluff |
 | Bean There, Won That | $7.99 | 117 76% | 3.5k | $28k (exactly $28,045) | RemRem Studios | |
 | We Could Be Heroes | $14.99 | 42 85% | 1.3k | $19k (exactly $18,887) | CebCode Games | |
 | Gnaughty Gnomes | $7.99 | 71 100% | 2.1k | $17k (exactly $17,019) | SandCastles Studio | |
 | Heroes of Mount Dragon | $19.99 | 27 66% | 810 | $16k (exactly $16,192) | RuniQ |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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