Do I ship it?

Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Party Game

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Party Game Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Party Game

Of 23 developers who shipped a Party Game 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.. 42 more are announced, ×2.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $300, ×0.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50. 42 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 per shipper, while revenue is down 95% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 95% on the market, 42 announced, ×2.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Party Game
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 23
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $1.9k → $2.9k → $748 (still earning) → $0 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Party Game: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 23
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $300 (exactly $300)
Top 25% $3.8k (exactly $3,835)
Top 5% $28k (exactly $28,045)
Developers, 2 yr 23
Released games 52
Announced 42
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $6.99

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 95% on the market, supply 260% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 27%, 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
Party Game
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, Party Game; 7 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, PvP, 4 Player Local
Price point
$6.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
7 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Funny, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $6.99.

The top 10 games average 87% positive over 545 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $300, 1 in 4 over $3.8k, 1 in 20 over $28k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 6 in 10 of the 7 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 42 games are announced against 18 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.3 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

Rubber Bandits 2021 · $1.7M A Gummy's Life 2018 · $116k Mad Streets 2022 · $90k Knock'Em Out 2025 · $57k Bean There, Won That 2024 · $28k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Rubber Bandits older $9.99 5,628 84% 169k $1.7M (exactly $1,686,712) Flashbulb
A Gummy's Life older $19.99 194 81% 5.8k $116k (exactly $116,342) EP Games®
Mad Streets older $14.99 200 85% 6.0k $90k (exactly $89,940) Craftshop Arts Inc.
Knock'Em Out $7.99 239 85% 7.2k $57k (exactly $57,288) BBear Studio
Bean There, Won That $7.99 117 76% 3.5k $28k (exactly $28,045) RemRem Studios
Knockout Party older $6.99 111 70% 3.3k $23k (exactly $23,277) Toxic Studio
Gnaughty Gnomes $7.99 71 100% 2.1k $17k (exactly $17,019) SandCastles Studio
Amer Fighting - عامر المشاجرة $9.99 29 93% 870 $8.7k (exactly $8,691) Mad Hook
Lunch A Palooza older $12.99 22 90% 660 $8.6k (exactly $8,573) Seashell Studio
Glitchrunners older $12.99 16 25% 480 $6.2k (exactly $6,235) Torque Studios
Holiday Party: Mascot Brawl $13.99 12 100% 360 $5.0k (exactly $5,036) NAMSON Digital
Dough or Die · EA $7.99 16 100% 480 $3.8k (exactly $3,835) Soundbyte Interactive
Hoover Heroes · EA $6.99 14 100% 420 $2.9k (exactly $2,936) Kiki Games
Billgard $3.99 24 95% 720 $2.9k (exactly $2,873) Triflgard
Los Pingheros $6.99 9 88% 270 $1.9k (exactly $1,887) Hectiq
Battle Balls · EA $1.99 14 100% 420 $836 (exactly $836) Fonderland Studios

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