Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Horror
Should I ship a Horror Beat 'em up?
Beat 'em up + Horror
Of 23 developers who shipped a Horror 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.. 53 more are announced, ×4.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $480, level with the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $180; 1 in 20 cleared $140k, ×305 the market median. Revenue is up 1550% on the market; 53 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $179 (exactly $179) |
|---|---|
| Median | $478 (exactly $478) |
| Top 25% | $22k (exactly $22,478) |
| Top 5% | $145k (exactly $144,829) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 23 |
| Released games | 108 |
| Announced | 53 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
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 1550% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 13%, 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
- Horror
- 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; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Arcade, 2D Fighter
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Side Scroller, Comic Book
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 73% positive over 1,640 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $180. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 53 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.8 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
Batman™: Arkham Knight 2015 · $67M 
Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition 2010 · $37M 
Soulstice 2022 · $2.2M 
DEAD RISING® 2016 · $1.7M 
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood 2022 · $1.3M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Batman™: Arkham Knight | older | $19.99 | 111,190 92% | 3.3M | $67M (exactly $66,680,643) | Rocksteady Studios |
| | Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition | older | $19.99 | 62,057 96% | 1.9M | $37M (exactly $37,215,583) | Rocksteady Studios |
| | Soulstice | older | $39.99 | 1,845 76% | 55k | $2.2M (exactly $2,213,446) | Reply Game Studios |
| | DEAD RISING® | older | $9.99 | 5,751 89% | 173k | $1.7M (exactly $1,723,575) | Capcom |
| | Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood | older | $29.99 | 1,463 69% | 44k | $1.3M (exactly $1,316,261) | Cyanide Studio |
 | Charlie Murder | older | $9.99 | 2,618 96% | 79k | $785k (exactly $784,615) | Ska Studios |
 | They Bleed Pixels | older | $9.99 | 2,040 84% | 61k | $611k (exactly $611,388) | Spooky Squid Games Inc. |
 | Alien Shooter | older | $4.99 | 3,919 95% | 118k | $587k (exactly $586,674) | Sigma Team Inc. |
 | The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile | older | $9.99 | 1,776 95% | 53k | $532k (exactly $532,267) | Ska Studios |
 | Swordsman VR | older | $19.99 | 651 68% | 20k | $390k (exactly $390,405) | Sinn Studio Inc. |
 | The Bleakest Keep | $9.99 | 719 90% | 22k | $215k (exactly $215,484) | Cache of Bones | |
 | SealChain: Call of Blood | $8.99 | 537 56% | 16k | $145k (exactly $144,829) | AliveGameStudio | |
 | Night Slashers: Remake | $9.99 | 164 61% | 4.9k | $49k (exactly $49,151) | Storm Trident S.A. | |
 | Lady Death Demonicron | $39.99 | 36 47% | 1.1k | $43k (exactly $43,189) | Art Of Play Interactive | |
 | Terrifier: The ARTcade Game | $19.99 | 56 58% | 1.7k | $34k (exactly $33,583) | Relevo | |
 | シシテナオ-Even in Death- | $9.99 | 75 94% | 2.3k | $22k (exactly $22,478) | Mugen Daraku | |
 | Nekurogahara: Ronin Psyche | $39.99 | 4 75% | 120 | $4.8k (exactly $4,799) | n1lknarf | |
 | Slasher | $4.99 | 27 74% | 810 | $4.0k (exactly $4,042) | Horrid Vision LLC | |
 | Carnal Rage | $9.99 | 11 45% | 330 | $3.3k (exactly $3,297) | TailsUp4Tyranno | |
 | MeMic | $7.99 | 11 63% | 330 | $2.6k (exactly $2,637) | OnlineKingdom |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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