Do I ship it?

Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Procedural Generation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Procedural Generation Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Procedural Generation

Only 16 developers shipped a Procedural Generation 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, KIBORG, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 28 more are announced, ×4.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.5 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $60; 1 in 20 cleared $910k, ×1927 the market median. Revenue is down 80% on the market; 28 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.5 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 28 announced, ×4.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Procedural Generation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 16
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $148 → $420 → $479 → $32k → $12k → $2.2k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Procedural Generation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 16
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $2.2k (exactly $2,160)
Top 25% $32k (exactly $32,294)
Top 5% $915k (exactly $915,384)
Developers, 2 yr 16
Released games 70
Announced 28
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 80% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 13%, 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
Procedural Generation
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, Procedural Generation
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 10 games average 78% positive over 2,671 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $2.2k, 1 in 4 over $32k, 1 in 20 over $910k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 8 in 10 of the 10 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 28 games are announced against 7 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.0 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

Going Under 2020 · $1.6M DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION 2023 · $1.1M Alien Hominid Invasion 2023 · $943k KIBORG 2025 · $915k Rampage Knights 2015 · $849k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Going Under older $19.99 2,702 92% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) Aggro Crab
DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION older $2.99 12,437 94% 373k $1.1M (exactly $1,115,599) Agafonoff
Alien Hominid Invasion older $19.99 1,572 88% 47k $943k (exactly $942,728) The Behemoth
KIBORG $24.99 1,221 84% 37k $915k (exactly $915,384) Sobaka Studio
Rampage Knights older $12.99 2,179 93% 65k $849k (exactly $849,156) Rake in Grass
Towerborne $24.99 1,057 69% 32k $792k (exactly $792,433) Stoic
Abyss Odyssey older $14.99 1,270 67% 38k $571k (exactly $571,119) ACE Team
Bravery and Greed older $19.99 640 78% 19k $384k (exactly $383,808) Rekka Games
Son of a Witch older $23.99 350 84% 11k $252k (exactly $251,895) Bigosaur
Buck Up And Drive! older $7.99 640 91% 19k $153k (exactly $153,408) Fábio Fontes
Warspace 2 $17.99 83 59% 2.5k $45k (exactly $44,795) Magic Game Art
Mayhemers · EA $6.99 154 84% 4.6k $32k (exactly $32,294) Anigtas
REDLINE CROOKS $11.99 73 100% 2.2k $26k (exactly $26,258) Alexander Golke
Adrenaline Rampage $14.99 26 88% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Midhard Games
Hellwatch $9.99 27 44% 810 $8.1k (exactly $8,092) FG
GUN.DOG.REVENGE $4.00 18 100% 540 $2.2k (exactly $2,160) MEWSTURBO
Checkout Blitz: The Shopping Dead $4.99 10 100% 300 $1.5k (exactly $1,497) Birdtek Games
Endless Descent $15.00 2 100% 60 $900 (exactly $900) Emberlight Interactive

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