Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Dark Fantasy
Should I ship a Dark-Fantasy Beat 'em up?
Beat 'em up + Dark Fantasy
Of 53 developers who shipped a Dark-Fantasy 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.. 91 more are announced, ×3.1 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 $240; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×400 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 91 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $240 (exactly $240) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,198) |
| Top 25% | $6.0k (exactly $5,992) |
| Top 5% | $251k (exactly $251,149) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 53 |
| Released games | 152 |
| Announced | 91 |
| Effort | 5 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.99 |
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 flat on the market, supply 20% more 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.
- Beat 'em up
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
- Dark Fantasy
- effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band
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, Action Roguelike
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Stylized
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 6,162 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $240. 9 in 10 of the 31 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 91 games are announced against 29 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Beat 'em up with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + LGBTQ+Fair
- + RhythmFair
- + CollectathonFair
- + Score AttackFair
- + IncrementalFair
- + Tower DefenseFair
- + NinjaLong shot
- + Combat RacingLong shot
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + LootPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Online Co-OpPoor odds
Comparable games
Another Crab's Treasure 2024 · $15M 
Soulstice 2022 · $2.2M 
Tears of Metal 2026 · EA · $1.8M 
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood 2022 · $1.3M 
The Vagrant 2018 · $991k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Another Crab's Treasure | older | $29.99 | 16,863 93% | 506k | $15M (exactly $15,171,641) | Aggro Crab |
| | Soulstice | older | $39.99 | 1,845 76% | 55k | $2.2M (exactly $2,213,446) | Reply Game Studios |
| | Tears of Metal | · EA | $24.99 | 2,359 85% | 71k | $1.8M (exactly $1,768,542) | Paper Cult |
| | Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood | older | $29.99 | 1,463 69% | 44k | $1.3M (exactly $1,316,261) | Cyanide Studio |
| | The Vagrant | older | $3.99 | 8,283 89% | 248k | $991k (exactly $991,475) | O.T.K Games |
 | FIGHT KNIGHT | older | $19.99 | 1,547 91% | 46k | $928k (exactly $927,736) | Team Sorcerobe |
 | GOD FORSAKEN | $13.99 | 1,728 67% | 52k | $725k (exactly $725,242) | insight studio | |
 | Kill The Crows | older | $4.99 | 2,848 95% | 85k | $426k (exactly $426,346) | 5minlab Corp. |
 | Brush Burial: Gutter World | $9.99 | 838 93% | 25k | $251k (exactly $251,149) | Knife Demon Software | |
 | The Bleakest Keep | $9.99 | 719 90% | 22k | $215k (exactly $215,484) | Cache of Bones | |
 | Mad King Redemption | · EA | $14.99 | 159 84% | 4.8k | $72k (exactly $71,502) | SECRET MISSION |
 | Magenta Horizon - Neverending Harvest | $10.99 | 175 89% | 5.3k | $58k (exactly $57,698) | Maddison Baek | |
 | Immortal Hunters | $19.99 | 95 67% | 2.9k | $57k (exactly $56,971) | Admiral Games | |
 | Lady Death Demonicron | $39.99 | 36 47% | 1.1k | $43k (exactly $43,189) | Art Of Play Interactive | |
 | Grim Trials | $17.99 | 30 83% | 900 | $16k (exactly $16,191) | Glory Jam | |
 | Obey the Insect God | $19.99 | 23 100% | 690 | $14k (exactly $13,793) | Chunkle Freaky's Movies Games, Charles… (Chunkle Freaky's Movies Games, Charles Davis) |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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