Do I ship it?

Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Roguelite

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Roguelite Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Roguelite

Of 83 developers who shipped a Roguelite 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.. 107 more are announced, ×2.0 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $1.9k, ×4.0 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $2.1M, ×4594 the market median. Revenue is up 335% on the market; 107 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 4.0 times the market baseline, revenue up 335% on the market, 107 announced, ×2.0 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Roguelite
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 83
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $8.5k → $2.3k → $4.3k → $1.0k → $809 → $3.8k → $1.9k (still earning) → $7.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Roguelite: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 83
Bottom 30% $358 (exactly $358)
Median $1.9k (exactly $1,915)
Top 25% $13k (exactly $13,323)
Top 5% $2.2M (exactly $2,182,377)
Developers, 2 yr 83
Released games 198
Announced 107
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

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 335% on the market, supply 75% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 10%, 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
Roguelite
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high 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, Roguelite; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action Roguelike, Hack and Slash
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Colorful
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 80% positive over 40,586 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $360, median $1.9k, 1 in 4 over $13k, 1 in 20 over $2.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 33 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 107 games are announced against 53 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.0 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

Paint the Town Red 2021 · $17M Absolum 2025 · $7.0M Rotwood 2026 · $6.7M Lost Castle 2 2026 · $5.9M Lost Castle / 失落城堡 2016 · $5.5M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Paint the Town Red older $19.99 29,141 96% 874k $17M (exactly $17,475,858) South East Games
Absolum $24.99 9,399 91% 282k $7.0M (exactly $7,046,430) Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, Supamonks
Rotwood $29.99 7,459 74% 224k $6.7M (exactly $6,710,862) Klei Entertainment
Lost Castle 2 $17.99 10,851 78% 326k $5.9M (exactly $5,856,285) Hunter Studio
Lost Castle / 失落城堡 older $9.99 18,417 87% 553k $5.5M (exactly $5,519,575) Hunter Studio
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate $29.99 4,143 83% 124k $3.7M (exactly $3,727,457) Super Evil Megacorp
Fights in Tight Spaces older $24.99 3,545 90% 106k $2.7M (exactly $2,657,686) Ground Shatter
Samson $24.99 2,911 54% 87k $2.2M (exactly $2,182,377) Liquid Swords
Tears of Metal · EA $24.99 2,359 85% 71k $1.8M (exactly $1,768,542) Paper Cult
Going Under older $19.99 2,702 92% 81k $1.6M (exactly $1,620,389) Aggro Crab
Star Fire: Eternal Cycle $16.99 1,012 91% 30k $516k (exactly $515,816) Ethereal Fish Studio
GODBREAKERS $19.99 813 70% 24k $488k (exactly $487,556) To The Sky
Forestrike $9.99 920 91% 28k $276k (exactly $275,724) Skeleton Crew Studio, Thomas Olsson
The Bleakest Keep $9.99 719 90% 22k $215k (exactly $215,484) Cache of Bones

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