Do I ship it?

Games › Character Action Game › Character Action Game + Beat 'em up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Beat 'em up Character Action Game?

Character Action Game + Beat 'em up

Only 12 developers shipped a Beat 'em up Character Action Game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Dead as Disco, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 37 more are announced, ×4.6 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $58k, ×39 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $3.0k; 1 in 20 cleared $9.2M, ×6183 the market median. Revenue is up 80% on the market; 37 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 38.5 times the market baseline, revenue up 80% on the market, 37 announced, ×4.6 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Character Action Game + Beat 'em up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 12
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $13k → $31k → $58k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Character Action Game + Beat 'em up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
Bottom 30% $3.0k (exactly $2,998)
Median $58k (exactly $57,698)
Top 25% $488k (exactly $487,556)
Top 5% $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794)
Developers, 2 yr 12
Released games 121
Announced 37
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $19.99

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 100% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 7%, 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.

Character Action Game
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low 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
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Character Action Game, Beat 'em up
Price point
$19.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 93% positive over 14,864 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $3.0k, median $58k, 1 in 4 over $480k, 1 in 20 over $9.2M.

3 in 10 developers made under $3.0k. 4 in 10 of the 5 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 37 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.6 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Character Action Game with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Sci-fiPoor odds12 devs · median $305k · 30 announced
  2. + Action RPGPoor odds14 devs · median $105k · 55 announced
  3. + ShooterPoor odds14 devs · median $84k · 47 announced
  4. + Action-AdventurePoor odds23 devs · median $58k · 93 announced
  5. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds14 devs · median $58k · 43 announced
  6. + Spectacle fighterPoor odds22 devs · median $58k · 44 announced
  7. + Hack and SlashPoor odds27 devs · median $58k · 80 announced
  8. + AdventurePoor odds28 devs · median $29k · 100 announced
  9. + ActionPoor odds54 devs · median $20k · 188 announced
  10. + Action RoguelikePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 40 announced
  11. + RoguelikePoor odds9 devs · median $20k · 16 announced
  12. + SimulationPoor odds10 devs · median $15k · 19 announced

All 39 pairs on the Character Action Game page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE 2014 · $62M Hi-Fi RUSH 2023 · $25M DmC: Devil May Cry 2013 · $19M Devil May Cry HD Collection 2018 · $18M Bayonetta 2017 · $16M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE older $29.99 69,104 96% 2.1M $62M (exactly $62,172,869) PlatinumGames
Hi-Fi RUSH older $29.99 27,454 97% 824k $25M (exactly $24,700,364) Tango Gameworks
DmC: Devil May Cry older $29.99 20,938 93% 628k $19M (exactly $18,837,919) Ninja Theory
Devil May Cry HD Collection older $29.99 19,493 93% 585k $18M (exactly $17,537,852) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Bayonetta older $19.99 27,380 92% 821k $16M (exactly $16,419,786) PlatinumGames
Evil West older $49.99 10,215 74% 306k $15M (exactly $15,319,436) Flying Wild Hog
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition older $24.99 16,972 87% 509k $13M (exactly $12,723,908) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Dead as Disco · EA $24.99 12,354 96% 371k $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) Brain Jar Games, Inc.
NINJA GAIDEN Σ [NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection] older $39.99 2,492 82% 75k $3.0M (exactly $2,989,652) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Killer is Dead - Nightmare Edition older $19.99 3,879 75% 116k $2.3M (exactly $2,326,236) KADOKAWA GAMES / GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE
KIBORG $24.99 1,221 84% 37k $915k (exactly $915,384) Sobaka Studio
GODBREAKERS $19.99 813 70% 24k $488k (exactly $487,556) To The Sky
Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch $19.99 97 62% 2.9k $58k (exactly $58,171) Interabang Entertainment
SoulQuest $19.99 97 81% 2.9k $58k (exactly $58,171) SoulBlade Studio LLC, TomasJPereyra
Magenta Horizon - Neverending Harvest $10.99 175 89% 5.3k $58k (exactly $57,698) Maddison Baek
TEXNOPLAZM · EA $15.99 65 98% 2.0k $31k (exactly $31,180) Mothership Loudspeakerz
Rebel Engine $19.99 27 81% 810 $16k (exactly $16,192) Seven Leaf Clover
Xenrai $19.99 5 80% 150 $3.0k (exactly $2,998) Zenith Edge Studios
Slay The Berserker · EA $9.99 10 50% 300 $3.0k (exactly $2,997) Advance Garde

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