Do I ship it?

GamesBeat 'em upBeat 'em up + Superhero

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Superhero Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Superhero

Only 17 developers shipped a Superhero 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, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 22 more are announced, ×2.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

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

The middle developer here made $960, ×0.6 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $210. 22 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper, while revenue is down 75% on the market.

Deciding numbers: median 0.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 75% on the market, 22 announced, ×2.2 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Superhero
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 17
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.7k → $19k → $156k → $359 (still earning) → $300 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Superhero: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 17
Bottom 30% $210 (exactly $210)
Median $959 (exactly $959)
Top 25% $19k (exactly $18,591)
Top 5% $60M (exactly $60,169,370)
Developers, 2 yr 17
Released games 61
Announced 22
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 down 75% on the market, supply 45% 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 low: the lowest rating among its tags.

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

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
Systems
Beat 'em up; 8 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure
Price point
$7.99 typical · top 25% priced $59.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Comic Book, 1990's, 2D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $59.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.

The top 10 games average 83% positive over 36,773 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $210, median $960, 1 in 4 over $18k, 1 in 20 over $60M.

3 in 10 developers made under $210. 6 in 10 of the 8 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 22 games are announced against 10 developers who shipped in the last year, ×2.2 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Beat 'em up with a different setting or mood, 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

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
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 $59.99 33,433 83% 1.0M $60M (exactly $60,169,370) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales older $49.99 39,234 93% 1.2M $59M (exactly $58,839,230) Insomniac Games, Nixxes Software
Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition older $19.99 62,057 96% 1.9M $37M (exactly $37,215,583) Rocksteady Studios
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition older $19.99 55,935 95% 1.7M $34M (exactly $33,544,219) Rocksteady Studios
Batman™: Arkham Origins older $19.99 45,536 90% 1.4M $27M (exactly $27,307,939) WB Games Montreal, Splash Damage
Injustice™ 2 older $49.99 17,445 86% 523k $26M (exactly $26,162,266) NetherRealm Studios, QLOC
Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition older $19.99 9,864 86% 296k $5.9M (exactly $5,915,441) NetherRealm Studios, High Voltage Softw… (NetherRealm Studios, High Voltage Software)
MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics older $49.99 1,976 93% 59k $3.0M (exactly $2,963,407) CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion $29.99 2,298 88% 69k $2.1M (exactly $2,067,511) Tribute Games Inc.
Superhero Simulator · EA $5.99 867 73% 26k $156k (exactly $155,800) mightyraccoon! Studios
MARVEL MaXimum Collection $24.99 111 76% 3.3k $83k (exactly $83,217) Limited Run Games
The Phantom $19.99 31 61% 930 $19k (exactly $18,591) Art Of Play Interactive
SnackTimeActionGame $7.99 10 100% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) Snack Box Games
Last Eclipse $12.99 6 50% 180 $2.3k (exactly $2,338) Animas Games
Lone Warrior's Fist $5.99 10 100% 300 $1.8k (exactly $1,797) CreatiCell Games
Royal Goldenbeak and the Curse of Snowy Island $7.99 4 100% 120 $959 (exactly $959) Outside the Zoo
Dual Force $3.99 3 100% 90 $359 (exactly $359) Howling Beast Entertainment

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