Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Metroidvania
Should I ship a Metroidvania Beat 'em up?
Beat 'em up + Metroidvania
Only 19 developers shipped a Metroidvania 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, Kong: Survivor Instinct, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 58 more are announced, ×7.3 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 $150; 1 in 20 cleared $250k, ×533 the market median. Revenue is down 50% on the market; 58 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) |
| Top 25% | $14k (exactly $13,793) |
| Top 5% | $253k (exactly $253,399) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 19 |
| Released games | 89 |
| Announced | 58 |
| 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 50% on the market, supply 25% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 9%, 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
- Metroidvania
- 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, Metroidvania; 8 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, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 79% positive over 1,739 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 7 in 10 of the 13 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 58 games are announced against 8 developers who shipped in the last year, ×7.3 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Beat 'em up with a different second tag, 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 Asylum Game of the Year Edition 2010 · $37M 
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition 2012 · $34M 
Dust: An Elysian Tail 2013 · $6.4M 
Record of Lodoss War-Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth- 2021 · $4.3M 
Gensokyo Night Festival 2019 · EA · $1.8M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition | older | $19.99 | 62,057 96% | 1.9M | $37M (exactly $37,215,583) | Rocksteady Studios |
| | Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition | older | $19.99 | 55,935 95% | 1.7M | $34M (exactly $33,544,219) | Rocksteady Studios |
| | Dust: An Elysian Tail | older | $14.99 | 14,250 95% | 428k | $6.4M (exactly $6,408,225) | Humble Hearts LLC |
| | Record of Lodoss War-Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth- | older | $19.99 | 7,132 92% | 214k | $4.3M (exactly $4,277,060) | Team Ladybug, WSS playground |
| | Gensokyo Night Festival | · EA older | $12.99 | 4,497 69% | 135k | $1.8M (exactly $1,752,481) | WSS playground, tea_basira |
 | Guacamelee! 2 | older | $19.99 | 2,711 91% | 81k | $1.6M (exactly $1,625,787) | Drinkbox Studios |
 | Guacamelee! Gold Edition | older | $14.99 | 3,154 93% | 95k | $1.4M (exactly $1,418,354) | Drinkbox Studios |
 | Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition | older | $14.99 | 2,633 93% | 79k | $1.2M (exactly $1,184,060) | Drinkbox Studios |
 | Valdis Story: Abyssal City | older | $14.99 | 2,275 83% | 68k | $1.0M (exactly $1,023,068) | Endlessfluff Games |
 | Batman™: Arkham Origins Blackgate - Deluxe Edition | older | $19.99 | 1,682 44% | 50k | $1.0M (exactly $1,008,695) | Armature Studio, LLC |
 | Kong: Survivor Instinct | $24.99 | 338 71% | 10k | $253k (exactly $253,399) | 7Levels | |
 | Superhero Simulator | · EA | $5.99 | 867 73% | 26k | $156k (exactly $155,800) | mightyraccoon! Studios |
 | Oh So Hero! | $9.99 | 255 94% | 7.7k | $76k (exactly $76,424) | Full Frontal Frog | |
 | Paper Animal Adventure | · EA | $14.99 | 139 95% | 4.2k | $63k (exactly $62,508) | Cuddling Raccoons Studio |
 | Obey the Insect God | $19.99 | 23 100% | 690 | $14k (exactly $13,793) | Chunkle Freaky's Movies Games, Charles… (Chunkle Freaky's Movies Games, Charles Davis) | |
 | Virtue's Heaven | $19.99 | 12 100% | 360 | $7.2k (exactly $7,196) | MOKKOGRAD | |
 | DEAD DAYLIGHT | $2.99 | 71 88% | 2.1k | $6.4k (exactly $6,369) | KARMIU | |
 | Succubus: The Lustborn Curse | $9.99 | 19 63% | 570 | $5.7k (exactly $5,694) | Lustborn Studio | |
 | Roid Chimp | $7.99 | 11 90% | 330 | $2.6k (exactly $2,637) | Robert Panichpakdee | |
 | Briar Flame | $14.99 | 4 50% | 120 | $1.8k (exactly $1,799) | HappyDoodz Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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