Do I ship it?

Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Local Multiplayer

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Local Multiplayer Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Local Multiplayer

Of 67 developers who shipped a Local Multiplayer 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.. 101 more are announced, ×2.7 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.8k, ×3.8 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $300; 1 in 20 cleared $740k, ×1576 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 101 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 3.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 85% on the market, 101 announced, ×2.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Local Multiplayer
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 67
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $49k → $10k → $1.5k → $19k → $4.5k → $2.7k → $1.8k (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Local Multiplayer: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 67
Bottom 30% $299 (exactly $299)
Median $1.8k (exactly $1,798)
Top 25% $17k (exactly $17,019)
Top 5% $748k (exactly $748,436)
Developers, 2 yr 67
Released games 314
Announced 101
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 85% on the market, supply 25% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Local Multiplayer
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, Local Multiplayer; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Local Co-Op, Co-op
Price point
$9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
Art
6 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Retro, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 77% positive over 13,376 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $300, median $1.8k, 1 in 4 over $17k, 1 in 20 over $740k.

3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 101 games are announced against 37 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.7 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Beat 'em up with a different second tag, 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

TEKKEN 7 2017 · $82M Castle Crashers® 2012 · $49M NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 2016 · $43M Rivals of Aether 2017 · $30M Injustice™ 2 2017 · $26M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
TEKKEN 7 older $39.99 68,063 83% 2.0M $82M (exactly $81,655,181) BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc.
Castle Crashers® older $14.99 109,654 96% 3.3M $49M (exactly $49,311,404) The Behemoth
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 older $19.99 72,409 90% 2.2M $43M (exactly $43,423,677) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
Rivals of Aether older $29.99 33,284 96% 999k $30M (exactly $29,945,615) Aether Studios
Injustice™ 2 older $49.99 17,445 86% 523k $26M (exactly $26,162,266) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC
DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition older $49.99 11,886 83% 357k $18M (exactly $17,825,434) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
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.
Streets of Rage 4 older $24.99 17,293 92% 519k $13M (exactly $12,964,562) Dotemu, Guard Crush, Lizardcube
Ultra Street Fighter® IV older $29.99 11,054 91% 332k $9.9M (exactly $9,945,284) Capcom
Rotwood $29.99 7,459 74% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,710,862) Klei Entertainment
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion $29.99 2,298 88% 69k $2.1M (exactly $2,067,511) Tribute Games Inc.
Little Fighter 2 Remastered $15.88 1,770 76% 53k $843k (exactly $843,228) Little Fighter Co Pty Ltd, Marti Wong
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind $34.99 713 65% 21k $748k (exactly $748,436) Digital Eclipse
Scott Pilgrim EX $28.99 471 85% 14k $410k (exactly $409,629) Tribute Games Inc.
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate $24.99 205 84% 6.2k $154k (exactly $153,688) Rocket Panda Games Japan
G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra $24.99 121 56% 3.6k $91k (exactly $90,714) indie.io
Final Knight · EA $13.99 180 77% 5.4k $76k (exactly $75,546) 2oclocksoft
Fighting Force Collection $19.99 84 80% 2.5k $50k (exactly $50,375) Implicit Conversions
RUSHING BEAT X: Return Of Brawl Brothers $19.99 75 76% 2.3k $45k (exactly $44,978) CITY CONNECTION

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