Do I ship it?

GamesArena ShooterArena Shooter + Beat 'em up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Beat 'em up Arena Shooter?

Arena Shooter + Beat 'em up

Of 41 developers who shipped a Beat 'em up Arena Shooter 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.. 66 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $120 in the last 2 years and $180 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 6 / 10 build. 21 developers shipped in the last year and 66 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 66 announced, ×3.1 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Arena Shooter + Beat 'em up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 41
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $119 → $1.3k → $1.5k → $150 → $150 → $119 → $120 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Arena Shooter + Beat 'em up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 41
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $119 (exactly $119)
Top 25% $358 (exactly $358)
Top 5% $5.8k (exactly $5,846)
Developers, 2 yr 41
Released games 157
Announced 66
Effort 6 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
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 up 80% on the market, supply as many developers as 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 medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Arena Shooter
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
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
6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
Systems
Arena Shooter, Beat 'em up; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, PvE
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Funny, 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 189 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 $120, 1 in 4 over $350, 1 in 20 over $5.8k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. Nearly all of the 25 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 66 games are announced against 21 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + IncrementalFair15 devs · median $3.5k · 20 announced
  2. + DemonsFair54 devs · median $1.3k · 55 announced
  3. + 2D PlatformerFair45 devs · median $809 · 43 announced
  4. + Multiple EndingsFair18 devs · median $597 · 16 announced
  5. + CollectathonLong shot12 devs · median $150 · 13 announced
  6. + DeckbuildingPoor odds9 devs · median $3.1k · 26 announced
  7. + Bullet HeavenPoor odds75 devs · median $2.3k · 101 announced
  8. + Class-BasedPoor odds19 devs · median $2.2k · 50 announced
  9. + Boomer ShooterPoor odds133 devs · median $1.8k · 165 announced
  10. + Dark FantasyPoor odds59 devs · median $1.7k · 85 announced
  11. + On-Rails ShooterPoor odds10 devs · median $1.5k · 11 announced
  12. + RPGPoor odds88 devs · median $1.4k · 124 announced

All 134 pairs on the Arena Shooter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
MADNESS: Project Nexus older $24.99 15,977 97% 479k $12M (exactly $11,977,957) GIBBING TREE, LLC
Redeemer: Enhanced Edition older $11.99 2,637 87% 79k $949k (exactly $948,529) Sobaka Studio
Alien Shooter older $4.99 3,919 95% 118k $587k (exactly $586,674) Sigma Team Inc.
Kill The Crows older $4.99 2,848 95% 85k $426k (exactly $426,346) 5minlab Corp.
Zombie Training Simulator older $19.99 227 92% 6.8k $136k (exactly $136,132) Acceleroto, Inc.
Black Gunner Wukong older $9.99 417 98% 13k $125k (exactly $124,975) Wukong
BOSSGARD older $19.99 125 65% 3.8k $75k (exactly $74,962) Sand Sailor Studio
Saber Fight VR older $14.99 162 65% 4.9k $73k (exactly $72,851) Saber Fight VR
Cyber Avenger older $12.99 131 87% 3.9k $51k (exactly $51,051) Quacky Games
Ball-it Hell older $2.99 368 95% 11k $33k (exactly $33,010) Jamesika
TEXNOPLAZM · EA $15.99 65 98% 2.0k $31k (exactly $31,180) Mothership Loudspeakerz
Adrenaline Rampage $14.99 26 88% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Midhard Games
War of Wheels · EA $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Dreambits Studio
Knockout Battle $4.99 24 70% 720 $3.6k (exactly $3,593) Dani Tikka Masala, Alvin Leon Dobric, A… (Dani Tikka Masala, Alvin Leon Dobric, Anton Ploetner)
Boss Breaker $9.99 8 100% 240 $2.4k (exactly $2,398) Fifth Edge Studios
Hentai USSR $0.99 39 87% 1.2k $1.2k (exactly $1,158) Who We Are Games
Bumper Brawlers $9.99 2 100% 60 $599 (exactly $599) Gyxos
Project: KNOSSOS $7.99 2 100% 60 $479 (exactly $479) Ancient Pixel
Last Stand: Zombie Horde $1.99 8 100% 240 $478 (exactly $478) KOZGAMES
CRASHOUT $6.99 2 100% 60 $419 (exactly $419) STAGSTUDIOSLLC

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