Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Runner
Should I ship a Runner Beat 'em up?
Beat 'em up + Runner
Only 17 developers shipped a Runner 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, Nitro Express, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 20 more are announced.
Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $0 in the last 2 years and $120 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 10 developers shipped in the last year and 20 games are announced.
| Bottom 30% | $0 (exactly $0) |
|---|---|
| Median | $0 (exactly $0) |
| Top 25% | $748 (exactly $748) |
| Top 5% | $417k (exactly $416,589) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 17 |
| Released games | 56 |
| Announced | 20 |
| Effort | 4 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $3.99 |
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 25% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 20%, 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
- Runner
- 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, Runner; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, 2D Platformer, Action-Adventure
- Price point
- $3.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Side Scroller, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $3.99.
The top 8 games average 76% positive over 1,189 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 20 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year.
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
Nitro Express 2025 · $417k 
Buck Up And Drive! 2022 · $153k 
Dead Island Retro Revenge 2016 · $89k 
Otokonoko Fishing 2024 · $26k 
SpeedOverflow 2023 · $17k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Nitro Express | $12.99 | 1,069 75% | 32k | $417k (exactly $416,589) | Grayfax Software | |
| | Buck Up And Drive! | older | $7.99 | 640 91% | 19k | $153k (exactly $153,408) | Fábio Fontes |
| | Dead Island Retro Revenge | older | $4.99 | 592 62% | 18k | $89k (exactly $88,622) | Empty Clip Studios |
| | Otokonoko Fishing | older | $11.99 | 72 90% | 2.2k | $26k (exactly $25,898) | mumimumi, veryOK |
| | SpeedOverflow | older | $4.99 | 116 72% | 3.5k | $17k (exactly $17,365) | 狼烟 |
 | RHYTHMKILL | $9.99 | 45 82% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $13,486) | GETTAKE | |
 | DOLPHIN HUSTLE | older | $24.99 | 16 75% | 480 | $12k (exactly $11,995) | Gamesforgames |
 | Dungeon Warriors | · EA older | $5.99 | 25 52% | 750 | $4.5k (exactly $4,492) | FireStone Studio |
 | 北城捷運糾察隊(Northern City Metro Patrol) | $3.00 | 49 83% | 1.5k | $4.4k (exactly $4,410) | HoneyJamStudio | |
 | GUN.DOG.REVENGE | $4.00 | 18 100% | 540 | $2.2k (exactly $2,160) | MEWSTURBO | |
 | DEFENSORES DEL BARRIO | $4.99 | 5 80% | 150 | $748 (exactly $748) | PERNICH MEDIA | |
 | Forgotten spirit | $4.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $150 (exactly $150) | BurningGRP | |
 | Everyone Moves With You | $3.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $120 (exactly $120) | DIG Games | |
 | Yapori Dimensões | $1.99 | 1 100% | 30 | $60 (exactly $60) | Hayllon | |
 | HAPPY RUNNER | $0.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Bogosor Studio | |
 | ARO dangerous campaign | $4.99 | 0 0% | 0 | $0 (exactly $0) | Alexander Sevastianov |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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