Do I ship it?

GamesBeat 'em upBeat 'em up + Crime

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Crime Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Crime

Only 11 developers shipped a Crime Beat 'em up 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, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 39 more are announced, ×6.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×3.1 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $2.4M, ×3888 the market median. Revenue is down 20% on the market; 39 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.1 times the market baseline, revenue down 20% on the market, 39 announced, ×6.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Crime
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 11
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.5k → $575k → $418 → $106k
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Crime: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 11
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,948)
Top 25% $106k (exactly $106,457)
Top 5% $2.4M (exactly $2,441,512)
Developers, 2 yr 11
Released games 53
Announced 39
Effort 6 / 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 20% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 4%, 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.

Beat 'em up
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Crime
effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 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
Beat 'em up; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action RPG, Action-Adventure
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $49.99 or above
Art
8 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Funny
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $49.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 7,551 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $100k, 1 in 20 over $2.4M.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 7 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 39 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×6.5 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Beat 'em up with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + LGBTQ+Fair14 devs · median $76k · 13 announced
  2. + RhythmFair17 devs · median $4.5k · 15 announced
  3. + CollectathonFair25 devs · median $1.2k · 20 announced
  4. + Score AttackFair36 devs · median $539 · 41 announced
  5. + IncrementalFair11 devs · median $537 · 8 announced
  6. + Tower DefenseFair14 devs · median $416 · 19 announced
  7. + NinjaLong shot29 devs · median $359 · 30 announced
  8. + Combat RacingLong shot15 devs · median $89 · 15 announced
  9. + Character Action GamePoor odds12 devs · median $58k · 37 announced
  10. + LootPoor odds20 devs · median $13k · 29 announced
  11. + Co-opPoor odds74 devs · median $11k · 125 announced
  12. + Online Co-OpPoor odds45 devs · median $11k · 71 announced

All 126 pairs on the Beat 'em up page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition older $19.99 70,499 94% 2.1M $42M (exactly $42,278,250) United Front Games, Feral Interactive (… (United Front Games, Feral Interactive (Mac))
Sifu older $39.99 21,620 92% 649k $26M (exactly $25,937,514) Sloclap
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers older $39.99 18,880 75% 566k $23M (exactly $22,650,336) Aesir Interactive
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name older $49.99 9,118 95% 274k $14M (exactly $13,674,265) RGG Studio
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
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life older $19.99 7,017 92% 211k $4.2M (exactly $4,208,095) RGG Studio
Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties $59.99 2,229 62% 67k $4.0M (exactly $4,011,531) RGG Studio
Yakuza 5 Remastered older $19.99 6,199 88% 186k $3.7M (exactly $3,717,540) RGG Studio
Yakuza 4 Remastered older $19.99 5,657 91% 170k $3.4M (exactly $3,392,503) RGG Studio
Yakuza 0 Director's Cut $49.99 1,628 80% 49k $2.4M (exactly $2,441,512) RGG Studio
Yakuza Kiwami $19.99 1,334 82% 40k $800k (exactly $800,000) RGG Studio
Yakuza Kiwami 2 $19.99 1,135 82% 34k $681k (exactly $680,660) RGG Studio
Brush Burial: Gutter World $9.99 838 93% 25k $251k (exactly $251,149) Knife Demon Software
Troublemaker 2: Beyond Dream $24.99 142 95% 4.3k $106k (exactly $106,457) Gamecom Team
Kraken City $4.99 189 67% 5.7k $28k (exactly $28,293) nStarcube
北城捷運糾察隊(Northern City Metro Patrol) $3.00 49 83% 1.5k $4.4k (exactly $4,410) HoneyJamStudio
Wreckage · EA $12.99 5 80% 150 $1.9k (exactly $1,948) Jupiter Lighthouse Games
STOCKWAVE ONLINE $2.99 2 100% 60 $179 (exactly $179) Humano Guy

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