Do I ship it?

GamesBeat 'em upBeat 'em up + Medieval

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Medieval Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Medieval

Of 56 developers who shipped a Medieval 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.. 74 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $750, ×1.6 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 down 10% on the market; 74 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 1.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 10% on the market, 74 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Medieval
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 56
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.1k → $150 → $300 → $1.8k → $1.3k → $748 → $419 (still earning) → $900 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Medieval: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 56
Bottom 30% $119 (exactly $119)
Median $748 (exactly $748)
Top 25% $3.4k (exactly $3,443)
Top 5% $123k (exactly $123,308)
Developers, 2 yr 56
Released games 167
Announced 74
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 down 10% on the market, supply 15% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 17%, 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
Medieval
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; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Hack and Slash, Adventure
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $14.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 86% positive over 3,930 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $120, median $750, 1 in 4 over $3.4k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $120. 9 in 10 of the 34 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 74 games are announced against 26 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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
Castle Crashers® older $14.99 109,654 96% 3.3M $49M (exactly $49,311,404) The Behemoth
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)
Tears of Metal · EA $24.99 2,359 85% 71k $1.8M (exactly $1,768,542) Paper Cult
Asterix & Obelix XXL 2 older $19.99 713 75% 21k $428k (exactly $427,586) OSome Studio
Asterix & Obelix XXL: Romastered older $19.99 708 78% 21k $425k (exactly $424,588) OSome Studio
Swordsman VR older $19.99 651 68% 20k $390k (exactly $390,405) Sinn Studio Inc.
Tales Of Glory older $10.99 1,042 80% 31k $344k (exactly $343,547) BlackTale Games
The Bleakest Keep $9.99 719 90% 22k $215k (exactly $215,484) Cache of Bones
Asterix & Obelix: Slap them All! older $24.99 229 63% 6.9k $172k (exactly $171,681) Mr. Nutz Studio
Arisen Force: HeroTest $10.99 374 82% 11k $123k (exactly $123,308) Lemport
Yuri Sword Saga $10.99 212 97% 6.4k $70k (exactly $69,896) Pico Games
SoulQuest $19.99 97 81% 2.9k $58k (exactly $58,171) SoulBlade Studio LLC, TomasJPereyra
Green Ember: Helmer in the Dragon Tomb $16.99 32 96% 960 $16k (exactly $16,310) Brazen Games, Longtreader Games
Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche $7.99 28 82% 840 $6.7k (exactly $6,712) WayForward
DEAD DAYLIGHT $2.99 71 88% 2.1k $6.4k (exactly $6,369) KARMIU
Goat Survivor $7.99 25 68% 750 $6.0k (exactly $5,992) DUMARU Inc.
War of Wheels · EA $14.99 13 100% 390 $5.8k (exactly $5,846) Dreambits Studio

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