Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Fantasy
Should I ship a Fantasy Beat 'em up?
Beat 'em up + Fantasy
Of 133 developers who shipped a 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.. 232 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $600, ×1.3 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $120; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×260 the market median. Revenue is up 85% on the market; 232 games are announced against 74 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $120 (exactly $120) |
|---|---|
| Median | $600 (exactly $600) |
| Top 25% | $4.8k (exactly $4,794) |
| Top 5% | $123k (exactly $123,308) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 133 |
| Released games | 485 |
| Announced | 232 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
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 up 85% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 18%, 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
- Fantasy
- 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Adventure
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Side Scroller
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 85% positive over 16,951 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 76 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 232 games are announced against 74 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
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 2016 · $43M 
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2015 · $34M 
DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT 2020 · $26M 
DmC: Devil May Cry 2013 · $19M 
SOULCALIBUR VI 2018 · $18M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 | older | $19.99 | 72,409 90% | 2.2M | $43M (exactly $43,423,677) | CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd. |
| | DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE | older | $64.98 | 17,554 89% | 527k | $34M (exactly $34,219,768) | DIMPS |
| | DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT | older | $19.99 | 43,951 92% | 1.3M | $26M (exactly $26,357,415) | CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd. |
| | DmC: Devil May Cry | older | $29.99 | 20,938 93% | 628k | $19M (exactly $18,837,919) | Ninja Theory |
| | SOULCALIBUR VI | older | $59.99 | 9,768 83% | 293k | $18M (exactly $17,579,470) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corpor… (BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corporation) |
 | Bayonetta | older | $19.99 | 27,380 92% | 821k | $16M (exactly $16,419,786) | PlatinumGames |
 | WARRIORS OROCHI 4 | older | $59.99 | 4,424 85% | 133k | $8.0M (exactly $7,961,873) | KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. |
 | Absolum | $24.99 | 9,399 91% | 282k | $7.0M (exactly $7,046,430) | Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, Supamonks | |
 | NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 3 Full Burst HD | older | $19.99 | 10,749 89% | 322k | $6.4M (exactly $6,446,175) | CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd. |
 | Dust: An Elysian Tail | older | $14.99 | 14,250 95% | 428k | $6.4M (exactly $6,408,225) | Humble Hearts LLC |
 | PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY | $29.99 | 2,091 83% | 63k | $1.9M (exactly $1,881,273) | SAS CO.,LTD. | |
 | Towerborne | $24.99 | 1,057 69% | 32k | $792k (exactly $792,433) | Stoic | |
 | GOD FORSAKEN | $13.99 | 1,728 67% | 52k | $725k (exactly $725,242) | insight studio | |
 | The Bleakest Keep | $9.99 | 719 90% | 22k | $215k (exactly $215,484) | Cache of Bones | |
 | Maktala: Slime Lootfest | $4.99 | 1,345 79% | 40k | $201k (exactly $201,346) | Samharia Studios | |
 | Arisen Force: HeroTest | $10.99 | 374 82% | 11k | $123k (exactly $123,308) | Lemport | |
 | Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 | $39.99 | 88 82% | 2.6k | $106k (exactly $105,574) | AQUAPLUS | |
 | Utawarerumono: ZAN | $39.99 | 85 77% | 2.6k | $102k (exactly $101,974) | AQUAPLUS | |
 | Miraculous - Paris Under Siege | $49.99 | 65 52% | 2.0k | $97k (exactly $97,480) | Petit Fabrik |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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