Do I ship it?

Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Shoot 'Em Up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Shoot 'Em Up Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Shoot 'Em Up

Of 81 developers who shipped a Shoot 'Em Up 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.. 113 more are announced, ×2.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $270 in the last 2 years and $360 over 4, against a market of $480 for a 4 / 10 build. 41 developers shipped in the last year and 113 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 113 announced, ×2.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Shoot 'Em Up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 81
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $180 → $1.8k → $599 → $416 → $358 → $299 → $299 (still earning) → $90 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Shoot 'Em Up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 81
Bottom 30% $89 (exactly $89)
Median $269 (exactly $269)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,514)
Top 5% $70k (exactly $69,896)
Developers, 2 yr 81
Released games 274
Announced 113
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $4.99

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 35% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 15%, 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
Shoot 'Em Up
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, Shoot 'Em Up; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Shooter, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Side Scroller, Pixel Graphics
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 52% positive over 3,076 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $89, median $270, 1 in 4 over $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $69k.

3 in 10 developers made under $89. 9 in 10 of the 52 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 113 games are announced against 41 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.8 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

Furi 2016 · $6.7M Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef 2022 · $1.6M DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION 2023 · $1.1M Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2015 · $1.1M Alien Hominid Invasion 2023 · $943k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Furi older $19.99 11,246 90% 337k $6.7M (exactly $6,744,226) The Game Bakers
Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef older $19.99 2,586 87% 78k $1.6M (exactly $1,550,824) Rogueside
DR LIVESEY ROM AND DEATH EDITION older $2.99 12,437 94% 373k $1.1M (exactly $1,115,599) Agafonoff
Guns, Gore & Cannoli older $9.99 3,681 91% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,103,196) Rogueside, Claeysbrothers
Alien Hominid Invasion older $19.99 1,572 88% 47k $943k (exactly $942,728) The Behemoth
Beyond Sandbox · EA $19.99 1,223 39% 37k $733k (exactly $733,433) Atlas XR
UFO ROBOT GRENDIZER – The Feast of the Wolves older $39.99 559 84% 17k $671k (exactly $670,632) Endroad
Insect Swarm older $6.99 2,491 84% 75k $522k (exactly $522,363) Parallel Portal
Kill The Crows older $4.99 2,848 95% 85k $426k (exactly $426,346) 5minlab Corp.
BLACKWOOD $24.99 565 46% 17k $424k (exactly $423,580) AttritoM7 Productions
SealChain: Call of Blood $8.99 537 56% 16k $145k (exactly $144,829) AliveGameStudio
MARVEL MaXimum Collection $24.99 111 76% 3.3k $83k (exactly $83,217) Limited Run Games
Yuri Sword Saga $10.99 212 97% 6.4k $70k (exactly $69,896) Pico Games
Memory Lost $19.99 53 92% 1.6k $32k (exactly $31,784) Magic Hazard
LUST Eternal 🔞 $4.99 212 55% 6.4k $32k (exactly $31,736) Octo Games
Deadtime Defenders $9.99 48 79% 1.4k $14k (exactly $14,386) Arcane Embers
Banner of Conquest $4.99 89 65% 2.7k $13k (exactly $13,323) Haojoy Game
Adrenaline Rampage $14.99 26 88% 780 $12k (exactly $11,692) Midhard Games

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