Do I ship it?

GamesBeat 'em upBeat 'em up + Female Protagonist

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Female-Led Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Female Protagonist

Of 86 developers who shipped a Female-Led 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.. 119 more are announced, ×2.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $2.7k, ×5.7 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $150k, ×324 the market median. Revenue is down 65% on the market; 119 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 5.7 times the market baseline, revenue down 65% on the market, 119 announced, ×2.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Female Protagonist
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 86
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.6k → $6.0k → $2.5k → $4.5k → $2.7k → $4.4k → $1.2k (still earning) → $2.4k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Female Protagonist: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 86
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $2.7k (exactly $2,696)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $16,539)
Top 5% $154k (exactly $153,688)
Developers, 2 yr 86
Released games 314
Announced 119
Effort 4 / 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 down 65% on the market, supply 15% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Female Protagonist
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Side Scroller, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 85% positive over 4,336 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $2.7k, 1 in 4 over $16k, 1 in 20 over $150k.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 46 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 119 games are announced against 48 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.5 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
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers older $39.99 18,880 75% 566k $23M (exactly $22,650,336) Aesir Interactive
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)
Street Fighter V older $19.99 27,820 72% 835k $17M (exactly $16,683,654) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Bayonetta older $19.99 27,380 92% 821k $16M (exactly $16,419,786) PlatinumGames
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition older $24.99 16,972 87% 509k $13M (exactly $12,723,908) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Remember Me older $29.99 11,128 83% 334k $10M (exactly $10,011,862) DONTNOD Entertainment
WARRIORS OROCHI 4 older $59.99 4,424 85% 133k $8.0M (exactly $7,961,873) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Fate/EXTELLA LINK older $49.99 4,209 92% 126k $6.3M (exactly $6,312,237) Marvelous Inc.
RWBY: Grimm Eclipse older $19.99 9,834 81% 295k $5.9M (exactly $5,897,450) Rooster Teeth Games, FarBridge
Granblue Fantasy: Versus older $19.99 7,631 83% 229k $4.6M (exactly $4,576,311) Cygames, Inc., Arc System Works
Star Fire: Eternal Cycle $16.99 1,012 91% 30k $516k (exactly $515,816) Ethereal Fish Studio
Nitro Express $12.99 1,069 75% 32k $417k (exactly $416,589) Grayfax Software
Scott Pilgrim EX $28.99 471 85% 14k $410k (exactly $409,629) Tribute Games Inc.
Halluci-Sabbat of Koishi $7.99 701 91% 21k $168k (exactly $168,030) ZRIGN 地霊研究院
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate $24.99 205 84% 6.2k $154k (exactly $153,688) Rocket Panda Games Japan
Miraculous - Paris Under Siege $49.99 65 52% 2.0k $97k (exactly $97,480) Petit Fabrik
Maiden Cops $9.99 282 87% 8.5k $85k (exactly $84,515) Pippin Games
Decline's Drops $14.99 170 96% 5.1k $76k (exactly $76,449) Le Moulin aux Bulles
Abyss Kitchen $11.99 202 89% 6.1k $73k (exactly $72,659) Pico Games
Mad King Redemption · EA $14.99 159 84% 4.8k $72k (exactly $71,502) SECRET MISSION

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