Do I ship it?

GamesBeat 'em upBeat 'em up + Dystopian

Specimen · observed

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.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue too few recent games to read momentum, 45 announced, ×4.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Dystopian
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: $16k → $1.8k (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Dystopian: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 12
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.

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
Dystopian
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Beat 'em up
Price point
$7.77 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 72% positive over 235 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 $300, 1 in 4 over $6.7k, 1 in 20 over $160k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 45 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.5 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
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.