Do I ship it?

Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Cyberpunk

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Cyberpunk Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Cyberpunk

Of 34 developers who shipped a Cyberpunk 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.. 84 more are announced, ×4.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×1.9 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150; 1 in 20 cleared $910k, ×1458 the market median. Revenue is down 55% on the market; 84 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 55% on the market, 84 announced, ×4.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Cyberpunk
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 34
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $9.6k → $3.0k → $9.7k → $359 → $809 → $6.1k → $299 (still earning) → $30 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Cyberpunk: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 34
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $1.2k (exactly $1,199)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,486)
Top 5% $915k (exactly $915,384)
Developers, 2 yr 34
Released games 139
Announced 84
Effort 5 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $8.99

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 55% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 25%, 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
Cyberpunk
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Beat 'em up; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Hack and Slash, Combat
Price point
$8.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Stylized, Third Person
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.

The top 10 games average 95% positive over 15,029 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 $1.2k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $910k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 21 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 84 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.7 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

METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE 2014 · $62M Hi-Fi RUSH 2023 · $25M Remember Me 2013 · $10M Dead as Disco 2026 · EA · $9.3M Furi 2016 · $6.7M
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
Remember Me older $29.99 11,128 83% 334k $10M (exactly $10,011,862) DONTNOD Entertainment
Dead as Disco · EA $24.99 12,354 96% 371k $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) Brain Jar Games, Inc.
Furi older $19.99 11,246 90% 337k $6.7M (exactly $6,744,226) The Game Bakers
Killer is Dead - Nightmare Edition older $19.99 3,879 75% 116k $2.3M (exactly $2,326,236) KADOKAWA GAMES / GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE
Going Under older $19.99 2,702 92% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) Aggro Crab
KIBORG $24.99 1,221 84% 37k $915k (exactly $915,384) Sobaka Studio
Star Fire: Eternal Cycle $16.99 1,012 91% 30k $516k (exactly $515,816) Ethereal Fish Studio
Slave Zero X older $24.99 438 75% 13k $328k (exactly $328,369) Poppy Works
FUTA FIGHT & FUCK 🥊 $14.99 115 92% 3.5k $52k (exactly $51,716) BanzaiProject
Memory Lost $19.99 53 92% 1.6k $32k (exactly $31,784) Magic Hazard
TEXNOPLAZM · EA $15.99 65 98% 2.0k $31k (exactly $31,180) Mothership Loudspeakerz
Jenny the Witch $7.99 69 88% 2.1k $17k (exactly $16,539) Catbird Soft
OverRider · EA $9.99 50 82% 1.5k $15k (exactly $14,985) Tension Meow
Disco Samurai $9.99 45 88% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) Pixel Fiber Games
RHYTHMKILL $9.99 45 82% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) GETTAKE

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