Do I ship it?

Games › Strategy › Strategy + Beat 'em up

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Beat 'em up Strategy game?

Strategy + Beat 'em up

Of 62 developers who shipped a Beat 'em up Strategy game 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.. 75 more are announced.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $150 in the last 2 years and $300 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 40 developers shipped in the last year and 75 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.2 times the market baseline, revenue up 495% on the market, 75 announced, ×1.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Strategy + Beat 'em up
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 62
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.0k → $1.2k → $315 → $359 → $90 → $0 → $299 (still earning) → $299 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Strategy + Beat 'em up: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 62
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $150 (exactly $150)
Top 25% $599 (exactly $599)
Top 5% $106k (exactly $106,457)
Developers, 2 yr 62
Released games 199
Announced 75
Effort 5 / 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 495% on the market, supply 80% more developers than 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.

Strategy
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 sits in the medium 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
5 / 10 · real systems or entry 3D
Systems
Strategy, Beat 'em up; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Combat, Roguelite
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $13.99 or above
Art
3 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $13.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 79% positive over 9,065 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $150, 1 in 4 over $590, 1 in 20 over $100k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 9 in 10 of the 29 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 75 games are announced against 40 developers who shipped in the last year.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

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

  1. + FMVStrong odds50 devs · median $65k · 27 announced
  2. + Job SimulatorFair62 devs · median $16k · 74 announced
  3. + BaseballFair14 devs · median $7.5k · 7 announced
  4. + LGBTQ+Fair89 devs · median $6.7k · 91 announced
  5. + WuxiaFair23 devs · median $4.7k · 41 announced
  6. + FarmingFair44 devs · median $4.3k · 42 announced
  7. + Martial ArtsFair81 devs · median $3.0k · 94 announced
  8. + SubmarineFair21 devs · median $2.4k · 23 announced
  9. + NavalFair66 devs · median $2.2k · 88 announced
  10. + IdlerFair696 devs · median $1.9k · 988 announced
  11. + Shop KeeperFair159 devs · median $1.8k · 264 announced
  12. + HackingFair96 devs · median $1.2k · 132 announced

All 275 pairs on the Strategy page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

Batman™: Arkham Knight 2015 · $67M DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition 2014 · $18M DNF Duel 2022 · $5.5M Brutal Legend 2013 · $5.1M Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate 2024 · $3.7M
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Batman™: Arkham Knight older $19.99 111,190 92% 3.3M $67M (exactly $66,680,643) Rocksteady Studios
DYNASTY WARRIORS 8: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition older $49.99 11,886 83% 357k $18M (exactly $17,825,434) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
DNF Duel older $49.99 3,693 64% 111k $5.5M (exactly $5,538,392) NEOPLE Inc., Arc System Works, EIGHTING… (NEOPLE Inc., Arc System Works, EIGHTING Co., Ltd.)
Brutal Legend older $14.99 11,365 94% 341k $5.1M (exactly $5,110,840) Double Fine Productions
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
DYNASTY WARRIORS 8 Empires older $49.99 1,456 66% 44k $2.2M (exactly $2,183,563) KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
GOD FORSAKEN $13.99 1,728 67% 52k $725k (exactly $725,242) insight studio
Troublemaker older $19.99 938 89% 28k $563k (exactly $562,519) Gamecom Team
RUNGORE older $14.99 991 85% 30k $446k (exactly $445,653) YOUR_MOM'S_HP, RavenJm
Maktala: Slime Lootfest $4.99 1,345 79% 40k $201k (exactly $201,346) Samharia Studios
Zad Archery $6.99 803 73% 24k $168k (exactly $168,389) Samharia Studios
Troublemaker 2: Beyond Dream $24.99 142 95% 4.3k $106k (exactly $106,457) Gamecom Team
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown $19.99 160 89% 4.8k $96k (exactly $95,952) Strange Scaffold
Abyss Kitchen $11.99 202 89% 6.1k $73k (exactly $72,659) Pico Games
Mad King Redemption · EA $14.99 159 84% 4.8k $72k (exactly $71,502) SECRET MISSION
IGNOBLE $6.99 331 82% 9.9k $69k (exactly $69,411) Retromagine
Shattered Realm Rebirth · EA $13.99 52 88% 1.6k $22k (exactly $21,824) kingnagame

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