Do I ship it?

Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Ninja

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Ninja Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Ninja

Of 29 developers who shipped a Ninja 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.. 30 more are announced.

Verdict: long shot, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360, ×0.6 the market's $630 for a 5 / 10 build, but 1 in 20 cleared $90k, ×144 the market median. Revenue is down 25% on the market; 30 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 25% on the market, 30 announced, ×1.7 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Ninja
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 29
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $719 → $2.4k → $14k → $91k → $150 → $300 → $599 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Ninja: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 29
Bottom 30% $150 (exactly $150)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $3.9k (exactly $3,896)
Top 5% $91k (exactly $90,714)
Developers, 2 yr 29
Released games 114
Announced 30
Effort 5 / 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 25% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, 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
Ninja
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Beat 'em up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Colorful, Retro, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 69% positive over 436 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $150, median $360, 1 in 4 over $3.8k, 1 in 20 over $90k.

3 in 10 developers made under $150. 9 in 10 of the 14 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 30 games are announced against 18 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. + 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. + 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

METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE 2014 · $62M NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 2016 · $43M Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge 2022 · $9.7M NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 3 Full Burst HD 2013 · $6.4M SENRAN KAGURA ESTIVAL VERSUS 2017 · $4.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE older $29.99 69,104 96% 2.1M $62M (exactly $62,172,869) PlatinumGames
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 older $19.99 72,409 90% 2.2M $43M (exactly $43,423,677) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge older $24.99 12,961 94% 389k $9.7M (exactly $9,716,862) Tribute Games Inc.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 3 Full Burst HD older $19.99 10,749 89% 322k $6.4M (exactly $6,446,175) CyberConnect2 Co. Ltd.
SENRAN KAGURA ESTIVAL VERSUS older $29.99 4,986 94% 150k $4.5M (exactly $4,485,904) Tamsoft
NINJA GAIDEN Σ [NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection] older $39.99 2,492 82% 75k $3.0M (exactly $2,989,652) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
SAMURAI WARRIORS 5 older $59.99 1,313 81% 39k $2.4M (exactly $2,363,006) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
SENRAN KAGURA Burst Re:Newal older $29.99 2,433 92% 73k $2.2M (exactly $2,188,970) Tamsoft
SENRAN KAGURA SHINOVI VERSUS older $19.99 3,542 94% 106k $2.1M (exactly $2,124,137) Tamsoft
NINJA GAIDEN 3: Razor's Edge [NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection] older $39.99 1,667 64% 50k $2.0M (exactly $1,999,900) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed $39.99 114 50% 3.4k $137k (exactly $136,766) AHEARTFULOFGAMES
G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra $24.99 121 56% 3.6k $91k (exactly $90,714) indie.io
Mexican Ninja $16.99 76 89% 2.3k $39k (exactly $38,737) Madbricks
The Last Ninja Collection + Bonus Games $29.99 16 100% 480 $14k (exactly $14,395) System 3 Software
RHYTHMKILL $9.99 45 82% 1.4k $13k (exactly $13,486) GETTAKE
JUST ONE MAN · EA $10.99 20 90% 600 $6.6k (exactly $6,594) Raikiri
FantasyJourney $9.99 15 80% 450 $4.5k (exactly $4,496) XiangziArtStudio
Prop Sumo $9.99 13 84% 390 $3.9k (exactly $3,896) Barrel Roll Games
SnackTimeActionGame $7.99 10 100% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) Snack Box Games
Gangs Of Asia · EA $9.99 6 100% 180 $1.8k (exactly $1,798) Moonpunch

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