Games › Swordplay › Swordplay + Beat 'em up
Should I ship a Beat 'em up Swordplay game?
Swordplay + Beat 'em up
Of 31 developers who shipped a Beat 'em up Swordplay 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.. 54 more are announced, ×3.2 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.4k, ×2.3 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $480; 1 in 20 cleared $160k, ×268 the market median. Revenue is up 70% on the market; 54 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $479 (exactly $479) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.4k (exactly $1,438) |
| Top 25% | $13k (exactly $13,486) |
| Top 5% | $168k (exactly $168,030) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 31 |
| Released games | 114 |
| Announced | 54 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| 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 70% on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 11%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Swordplay
- effort 6 / 10 · medium · effort 6 sits in the medium band
- Beat 'em up
- effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Swordplay, Beat 'em up; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Hack and Slash, 2D Fighter
- Price point
- $7.99 typical · top 25% priced $18.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Story Rich, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $18.99 or above; the middle game at $7.99.
The top 10 games average 75% positive over 6,314 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $480. 8 in 10 of the 17 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 54 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.2 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Swordplay with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + Visual NovelFair
- + Strategy RPGFair
- + IdlerFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + DeckbuildingFair
- + Shoot 'Em UpLong shot
- + SamuraiPoor odds
- + JRPGPoor odds
- + Female ProtagonistPoor odds
- + FightingPoor odds
- + Co-opPoor odds
- + Base BuildingPoor odds
Comparable games
METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE 2014 · $62M 
Sifu 2023 · $26M 
SOULCALIBUR VI 2018 · $18M 
En Garde! 2023 · $2.5M 
Killer is Dead - Nightmare Edition 2014 · $2.3M | 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 |
| | Sifu | older | $39.99 | 21,620 92% | 649k | $26M (exactly $25,937,514) | Sloclap |
| | SOULCALIBUR VI | older | $59.99 | 9,768 83% | 293k | $18M (exactly $17,579,470) | BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corpor… (BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., Dimps Corporation) |
| | En Garde! | older | $19.99 | 4,161 90% | 125k | $2.5M (exactly $2,495,352) | Fireplace Games |
| | Killer is Dead - Nightmare Edition | older | $19.99 | 3,879 75% | 116k | $2.3M (exactly $2,326,236) | KADOKAWA GAMES / GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE |
 | Soulstice | older | $39.99 | 1,845 76% | 55k | $2.2M (exactly $2,213,446) | Reply Game Studios |
 | Path of Kung Fu | $14.99 | 4,880 72% | 146k | $2.2M (exactly $2,194,536) | 游鲤化龙工作室 | |
 | Mitsurugi Kamui Hikae | older | $9.99 | 2,747 81% | 82k | $823k (exactly $823,276) | Zenith Blue |
 | Swordsman VR | older | $19.99 | 651 68% | 20k | $390k (exactly $390,405) | Sinn Studio Inc. |
 | Tales Of Glory | older | $10.99 | 1,042 80% | 31k | $344k (exactly $343,547) | BlackTale Games |
 | Halluci-Sabbat of Koishi | $7.99 | 701 91% | 21k | $168k (exactly $168,030) | ZRIGN 地霊研究院 | |
 | Yuri Sword Saga | $10.99 | 212 97% | 6.4k | $70k (exactly $69,896) | Pico Games | |
 | Age of Barbarians Chronicles | $18.99 | 101 76% | 3.0k | $58k (exactly $57,540) | Crian Soft | |
 | Lady Death Demonicron | $39.99 | 36 47% | 1.1k | $43k (exactly $43,189) | Art Of Play Interactive | |
 | Kraken City | $4.99 | 189 67% | 5.7k | $28k (exactly $28,293) | nStarcube | |
 | Disco Samurai | $9.99 | 45 88% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $13,486) | Pixel Fiber Games | |
 | RHYTHMKILL | $9.99 | 45 82% | 1.4k | $13k (exactly $13,486) | GETTAKE | |
 | Buccaneers Shipshape | $12.99 | 31 87% | 930 | $12k (exactly $12,081) | Merso Entertainment | |
 | Great Tough Bikini 6 | $2.99 | 74 70% | 2.2k | $6.6k (exactly $6,638) | nStarcube |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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