Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Multiple Endings
Should I ship a Multiple Endings Beat 'em up?
Beat 'em up + Multiple Endings
Only 17 developers shipped a Multiple Endings 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, Halluci-Sabbat of Koishi, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 52 more are announced, ×5.8 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 $300; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×354 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 52 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $299 (exactly $299) |
|---|---|
| Median | $748 (exactly $748) |
| Top 25% | $17k (exactly $17,261) |
| Top 5% | $168k (exactly $168,030) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 69 |
| Announced | 52 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $8.99 |
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 55% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, 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
- Multiple Endings
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
- Systems
- Beat 'em up, Multiple Endings; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, 2D Fighter
- Price point
- $8.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Side Scroller, Story Rich
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $8.99.
The top 10 games average 84% positive over 1,568 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $300. 8 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 52 games are announced against 9 developers who shipped in the last year, ×5.8 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
Lost Castle / 失落城堡 2016 · $5.5M 
STAR WARS™ - The Force Unleashed™ Ultimate Sith Edition 2009 · $5.2M 
Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun 2024 · $2.3M 
The Legend of Tianding 2021 · $2.0M 
Fight'N Rage 2017 · $1.5M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Lost Castle / 失落城堡 | older | $9.99 | 18,417 87% | 553k | $5.5M (exactly $5,519,575) | Hunter Studio |
| | STAR WARS™ - The Force Unleashed™ Ultimate Sith Edition | older | $19.99 | 8,732 77% | 262k | $5.2M (exactly $5,236,580) | LucasArts |
| | Three Kingdoms Zhao Yun | older | $19.99 | 3,829 66% | 115k | $2.3M (exactly $2,296,251) | ZUIJIANGYUE Game |
| | The Legend of Tianding | older | $19.99 | 3,272 94% | 98k | $2.0M (exactly $1,962,218) | Creative Games Computer Graphics Corpor… (Creative Games Computer Graphics Corporation, Neon Doctrine) |
| | Fight'N Rage | older | $19.99 | 2,557 92% | 77k | $1.5M (exactly $1,533,433) | sebagamesdev |
 | Fading Afternoon | older | $19.99 | 959 80% | 29k | $575k (exactly $575,112) | yeo |
 | Troublemaker | older | $19.99 | 938 89% | 28k | $563k (exactly $562,519) | Gamecom Team |
 | Mayhem Brawler | older | $19.99 | 836 89% | 25k | $501k (exactly $501,349) | Hero Concept |
 | Pocket Bravery | older | $19.99 | 503 90% | 15k | $302k (exactly $301,649) | Statera Studio |
 | Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues | older | $19.99 | 417 84% | 13k | $250k (exactly $250,075) | Flux Games |
 | Halluci-Sabbat of Koishi | $7.99 | 701 91% | 21k | $168k (exactly $168,030) | ZRIGN 地霊研究院 | |
 | Warrior of Lust | $11.99 | 255 79% | 7.7k | $92k (exactly $91,724) | Aerisetta | |
 | Femtazio | $9.99 | 304 81% | 9.1k | $91k (exactly $91,109) | Aerisetta | |
 | MARVEL MaXimum Collection | $24.99 | 111 76% | 3.3k | $83k (exactly $83,217) | Limited Run Games | |
 | Lady Death Demonicron | $39.99 | 36 47% | 1.1k | $43k (exactly $43,189) | Art Of Play Interactive | |
 | The Phantom | $19.99 | 31 61% | 930 | $19k (exactly $18,591) | Art Of Play Interactive | |
 | Fugitive Free Rider | $8.99 | 64 78% | 1.9k | $17k (exactly $17,261) | Moka Sphere, SCON | |
 | Creepy Creepy Love | $4.99 | 62 93% | 1.9k | $9.3k (exactly $9,281) | BYYONI Entertainment | |
 | Armed Animals RPG | $15.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $959 (exactly $959) | Strejda Jenda Productions | |
 | Carnage in Space: Crucible | $13.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $839 (exactly $839) | John Brink |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.