Do I ship it?

GamesSpectacle fighterSpectacle fighter + Beat 'em up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Beat 'em up Spectacle fighter?

Spectacle fighter + Beat 'em up

Of 57 developers who shipped a Beat 'em up Spectacle fighter 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.. 97 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $3.3k, ×2.2 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $360; 1 in 20 cleared $2.1M, ×1465 the market median. Revenue is up 135% on the market; 97 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 135% on the market, 97 announced, ×3.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Spectacle fighter + Beat 'em up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 57
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $49k → $9.0k → $2.7k → $719 → $150 → $13k → $4.0k (still earning) → $719 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Spectacle fighter + Beat 'em up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 57
Bottom 30% $359 (exactly $359)
Median $3.3k (exactly $3,297)
Top 25% $22k (exactly $21,824)
Top 5% $2.2M (exactly $2,194,536)
Developers, 2 yr 57
Released games 199
Announced 97
Effort 7 / 10
AI-buildability Low
Typical price $7.99

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 135% on the market, supply as many developers as the period before.

Free games: 9%, 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

Spectacle fighter
effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
Beat 'em up
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Spectacle fighter, Beat 'em up; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Hack and Slash, 2D Platformer
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $29.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, Colorful, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 27,289 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 $3.3k, 1 in 4 over $21k, 1 in 20 over $2.1M.

3 in 10 developers made under $360. 8 in 10 of the 32 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 97 games are announced against 30 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Spectacle fighter with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Score AttackFair31 devs · median $4.3k · 29 announced
  2. + HorrorFair14 devs · median $3.7k · 16 announced
  3. + LootPoor odds9 devs · median $65k · 11 announced
  4. + Character Action GamePoor odds22 devs · median $58k · 44 announced
  5. + Survival HorrorPoor odds8 devs · median $52k · 12 announced
  6. + HistoricalPoor odds16 devs · median $33k · 17 announced
  7. + Sci-fiPoor odds48 devs · median $17k · 82 announced
  8. + RobotsPoor odds15 devs · median $16k · 35 announced
  9. + MythologyPoor odds16 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  10. + Female ProtagonistPoor odds45 devs · median $7.2k · 86 announced
  11. + FightingPoor odds25 devs · median $7.2k · 40 announced
  12. + Hack and SlashPoor odds77 devs · median $6.7k · 142 announced

All 99 pairs on the Spectacle fighter page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE older $29.99 69,104 96% 2.1M $62M (exactly $62,172,869) PlatinumGames
Hi-Fi RUSH older $29.99 27,454 97% 824k $25M (exactly $24,700,364) Tango Gameworks
DmC: Devil May Cry older $29.99 20,938 93% 628k $19M (exactly $18,837,919) Ninja Theory
DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition older $49.99 11,886 83% 357k $18M (exactly $17,825,434) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Devil May Cry HD Collection older $29.99 19,493 93% 585k $18M (exactly $17,537,852) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Bayonetta older $19.99 27,380 92% 821k $16M (exactly $16,419,786) PlatinumGames
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition older $24.99 16,972 87% 509k $13M (exactly $12,723,908) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Dead as Disco · EA $24.99 12,354 96% 371k $9.3M (exactly $9,261,794) Brain Jar Games, Inc.
RWBY: Grimm Eclipse older $19.99 9,834 81% 295k $5.9M (exactly $5,897,450) Rooster Teeth Games, FarBridge
NINJA GAIDEN Σ [NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection] older $39.99 2,492 82% 75k $3.0M (exactly $2,989,652) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
Stick It to the Stickman · EA $11.99 7,918 96% 238k $2.8M (exactly $2,848,105) Free Lives
Path of Kung Fu $14.99 4,880 72% 146k $2.2M (exactly $2,194,536) 游鲤化龙工作室
GODBREAKERS $19.99 813 70% 24k $488k (exactly $487,556) To The Sky
ADEN $8.99 670 96% 20k $181k (exactly $180,699) takayakata
Double Dragon Revive $34.99 157 63% 4.7k $165k (exactly $164,803) YUKE’S
Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 $39.99 88 82% 2.6k $106k (exactly $105,574) AQUAPLUS
Utawarerumono: ZAN $39.99 85 77% 2.6k $102k (exactly $101,974) AQUAPLUS
Kings of Hell · EA $20.50 154 91% 4.6k $95k (exactly $94,710) StrawberryOctopus Productions
Decline's Drops $14.99 170 96% 5.1k $76k (exactly $76,449) Le Moulin aux Bulles

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