Do I ship it?

Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + LGBTQ+

Specimen · observed

Should I ship an LGBTQ+ Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + LGBTQ+

Only 14 developers shipped an LGBTQ+ 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, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 13 more are announced.

Verdict: fair, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $76k, ×161 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, with 3 in 10 under $52k. Revenue is up 20% on the market; 13 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 160.9 times the market baseline, revenue up 20% on the market, 13 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + LGBTQ+
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 14
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $107k → $70k → $76k → $95k → $52k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + LGBTQ+: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 14
Bottom 30% $52k (exactly $51,716)
Median $76k (exactly $76,424)
Top 25% $95k (exactly $94,710)
Top 5% $60M (exactly $60,169,370)
Developers, 2 yr 14
Released games 40
Announced 13
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $14.99

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 20% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 3%, 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
LGBTQ+
effort 2 / 10 · high · effort 2 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
$14.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Atmospheric, Cute
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $14.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 36,290 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $52k, median $76k, 1 in 4 over $94k, 1 in 20 over $60M.

3 in 10 developers made under $52k. 1 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 13 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Beat 'em up with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + RhythmFair17 devs · median $4.5k · 15 announced
  2. + CollectathonFair25 devs · median $1.2k · 20 announced
  3. + Score AttackFair36 devs · median $539 · 41 announced
  4. + IncrementalFair11 devs · median $537 · 8 announced
  5. + Tower DefenseFair14 devs · median $416 · 19 announced
  6. + NinjaLong shot29 devs · median $359 · 30 announced
  7. + Combat RacingLong shot15 devs · median $89 · 15 announced
  8. + Character Action GamePoor odds12 devs · median $58k · 37 announced
  9. + LootPoor odds20 devs · median $13k · 29 announced
  10. + Co-opPoor odds74 devs · median $11k · 125 announced
  11. + Online Co-OpPoor odds45 devs · median $11k · 71 announced
  12. + Local Co-OpPoor odds68 devs · median $9.0k · 94 announced

All 126 pairs on the Beat 'em up page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 2025 · $60M Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales 2022 · $59M Scott Pilgrim vs. The World™: The Game – Complete Edition 2023 · $1.5M VALKYRIE DRIVE -BHIKKHUNI- 2017 · $1.0M Brush Burial: Gutter World 2025 · $251k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 $59.99 33,433 83% 1.0M $60M (exactly $60,169,370) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales older $49.99 39,234 93% 1.2M $59M (exactly $58,839,230) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World™: The Game – Complete Edition older $14.99 3,262 75% 98k $1.5M (exactly $1,466,921) Engine Software, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubis… (Engine Software, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Chengdu, Ubisoft Pune Production)
VALKYRIE DRIVE -BHIKKHUNI- older $29.99 1,158 83% 35k $1.0M (exactly $1,041,853) Meteorise, HONEY∞PARADE GAMES
Brush Burial: Gutter World $9.99 838 93% 25k $251k (exactly $251,149) Knife Demon Software
Guilty Gear X2 #Reload older $9.99 620 88% 19k $186k (exactly $185,814) Arc System Works
Halluci-Sabbat of Koishi $7.99 701 91% 21k $168k (exactly $168,030) ZRIGN 地霊研究院
Solas City Heroes older $19.99 179 88% 5.4k $107k (exactly $107,346) Skyflare Studios, MrZGames
Super Crush KO older $14.99 211 96% 6.3k $95k (exactly $94,887) Vertex Pop
Kings of Hell · EA $20.50 154 91% 4.6k $95k (exactly $94,710) StrawberryOctopus Productions
Femtazio $9.99 304 81% 9.1k $91k (exactly $91,109) Aerisetta
Femboy Futa Mania 🌶️ $14.99 174 71% 5.2k $78k (exactly $78,248) Lewd Star
Oh So Hero! $9.99 255 94% 7.7k $76k (exactly $76,424) Full Frontal Frog
Yuri Sword Saga $10.99 212 97% 6.4k $70k (exactly $69,896) Pico Games
TRON: Catalyst $19.99 104 71% 3.1k $62k (exactly $62,369) Bithell Games
FUTA FIGHT & FUCK 🥊 $14.99 115 92% 3.5k $52k (exactly $51,716) BanzaiProject

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