Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Perma Death
Should I ship a Perma Death Beat 'em up?
Beat 'em up + Perma Death
Only 7 developers shipped a Perma Death 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, Dough or Die, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 24 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $420 in the last 2 years and $450 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 6 developers shipped in the last year and 24 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $150 (exactly $150) |
|---|---|
| Median | $419 (exactly $419) |
| Top 25% | $959 (exactly $959) |
| Top 5% | $3.8k (exactly $3,835) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 7 |
| Released games | 41 |
| Announced | 24 |
| 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 too few recent games to read momentum, supply 500% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, 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
- Perma Death
- 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, Perma Death
- Price point
- $6.99 typical
Why players buy here
Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.
The top 25% priced at $14.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 81% positive over 2,388 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $150. 24 games are announced against 6 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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
Bravery and Greed 2022 · $384k 
Raw Metal 2024 · $271k 
Heart&Slash 2016 · $233k 
Story of a Gladiator 2019 · $58k 
Kate: Collateral Damage 2021 · $20k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Bravery and Greed | older | $19.99 | 640 78% | 19k | $384k (exactly $383,808) | Rekka Games |
| | Raw Metal | older | $19.99 | 452 88% | 14k | $271k (exactly $271,064) | Team Crucible |
| | Heart&Slash | older | $14.99 | 519 81% | 16k | $233k (exactly $233,394) | AHEARTFULOFGAMES |
| | Story of a Gladiator | older | $10.99 | 177 75% | 5.3k | $58k (exactly $58,357) | Brain Seal Ltd |
| | Kate: Collateral Damage | older | $7.99 | 82 92% | 2.5k | $20k (exactly $19,655) | Ludic Studios |
 | SpeedOverflow | older | $4.99 | 116 72% | 3.5k | $17k (exactly $17,365) | 狼烟 |
 | Spartan Fist | older | $14.99 | 33 63% | 990 | $15k (exactly $14,840) | Glass Bottom Games |
 | HAYAI | older | $1.99 | 236 98% | 7.1k | $14k (exactly $14,089) | Chaoclypse |
 | Whisper Trip | older | $4.99 | 90 60% | 2.7k | $13k (exactly $13,473) | Walnut LLC |
 | Demon Strikes Back | older | $7.99 | 43 62% | 1.3k | $10k (exactly $10,307) | WildPlanet |
 | Dough or Die | · EA | $7.99 | 16 100% | 480 | $3.8k (exactly $3,835) | Soundbyte Interactive |
 | Armed Animals RPG | $15.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $959 (exactly $959) | Strejda Jenda Productions | |
 | Seth Slays Everybody | $5.99 | 3 100% | 90 | $539 (exactly $539) | Candeia Studio | |
 | CRASHOUT | $6.99 | 2 100% | 60 | $419 (exactly $419) | STAGSTUDIOSLLC | |
 | Home Invaders | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | Umongus | |
 | Wellspring | $1.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Veilshred Studios | |
 | Dungeons & Death | $9.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | RatSlayerGames |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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