Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Dystopian
Should I ship a Dystopian Beat 'em up?
Beat 'em up + Dystopian
Only 12 developers shipped a Dystopian 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, Double Dragon Revive, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 45 more are announced, ×4.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $150. 45 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 per shipper, while momentum is unreadable here, too few recent games.
| Bottom 30% | $148 (exactly $148) |
|---|---|
| Median | $300 (exactly $300) |
| Top 25% | $6.8k (exactly $6,760) |
| Top 5% | $165k (exactly $164,803) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 12 |
| Released games | 51 |
| Announced | 45 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $7.77 |
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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 400% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 24%, 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
- Dystopian
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Beat 'em up
- Price point
- $7.77 typical
Why players buy here
The top 10 games average 72% positive over 235 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 45 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 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
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Remember Me | older | $29.99 | 11,128 83% | 334k | $10M (exactly $10,011,862) | DONTNOD Entertainment |
| | Going Under | older | $19.99 | 2,702 92% | 81k | $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) | Aggro Crab |
| | BROK the InvestiGator | older | $19.99 | 985 97% | 30k | $591k (exactly $590,704) | COWCAT |
| | Slave Zero X | older | $24.99 | 438 75% | 13k | $328k (exactly $328,369) | Poppy Works |
| | The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors | older | $19.99 | 430 92% | 13k | $258k (exactly $257,871) | Winning Entertainment Group Inc. |
| | Double Dragon Revive | $34.99 | 157 63% | 4.7k | $165k (exactly $164,803) | YUKE’S | |
| | Zombie Training Simulator | older | $19.99 | 227 92% | 6.8k | $136k (exactly $136,132) | Acceleroto, Inc. |
| | Lithium City | older | $7.99 | 286 92% | 8.6k | $69k (exactly $68,554) | Nico Tuason |
| | Election Year Knockout | older | $9.99 | 79 88% | 2.4k | $24k (exactly $23,676) | ExceptioNULL Games |
| | Rebel Engine | $19.99 | 27 81% | 810 | $16k (exactly $16,192) | Seven Leaf Clover | |
| | Total Chaos Against Apathy | $7.77 | 29 100% | 870 | $6.8k (exactly $6,760) | Discade Project | |
| | Knockout 2: Wrath of the Karen | · EA | $19.99 | 7 85% | 210 | $4.2k (exactly $4,198) | ExceptioNULL Games |
| | Morkull Ascend to the Gods | $14.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | Disaster Games | |
| | The Legend of Kairo | $9.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $300 (exactly $300) | Derrick Davison | |
| | Disaster Response Force | $4.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $299 (exactly $299) | Deep Current Studio | |
| | CORE | · EA | $5.00 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | FrankFurtFiggleHorn |
| | Boomer Brawler | $0.99 | 5 100% | 150 | $148 (exactly $148) | FzzyBzzy | |
| | POTUS vs. The World! | $1.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $119 (exactly $119) | F.a. Forge |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.