Do I ship it?

GamesBeat 'em upBeat 'em up + Visual Novel

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Visual Novel Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Visual Novel

Only 8 developers shipped a Visual Novel 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, Warrior of Lust, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 14 more are announced, ×3.5 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 4 / 10 build.

Only 4 developers shipped this in the last year, under the 5 a verdict needs; over 2 years the middle one made $57k against a market of $480. 14 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 119.9 times the market baseline, revenue down 80% on the market, 14 announced, ×3.5 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Visual Novel
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 8

not enough cohorts to draw

Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Visual Novel: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 8
Bottom 30% $9.3k (exactly $9,281)
Median $57k (exactly $56,971)
Top 25% $90k (exactly $89,910)
Top 5% $92k (exactly $91,724)
Developers, 2 yr 8
Released games 36
Announced 14
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $9.99

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 80% on the market, supply 20% fewer developers than the period before.

Free games: 11%, 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
Visual Novel
effort 2 / 10 · high · script, choices and static art

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, Visual Novel
Price point
$9.99 typical
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

Fewer than 10 games in the last 2 years; sentiment and price figures use the all window.

The top 25% priced at $29.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.

The top 10 games average 91% positive over 17,070 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $9.3k, median $57k, 1 in 4 over $89k, 1 in 20 over $91k.

3 in 10 developers made under $9.3k. 5 in 10 of the 6 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 14 games are announced against 4 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.5 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

Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Fate/EXTELLA LINK older $49.99 4,209 92% 126k $6.3M (exactly $6,312,237) Marvelous Inc.
SENRAN KAGURA ESTIVAL VERSUS older $29.99 4,986 94% 150k $4.5M (exactly $4,485,904) Tamsoft
SENRAN KAGURA Burst Re:Newal older $29.99 2,433 92% 73k $2.2M (exactly $2,188,970) Tamsoft
AKIBA'S TRIP: Undead & Undressed older $19.99 3,076 84% 92k $1.8M (exactly $1,844,677) ACQUIRE Corp.
BROK the InvestiGator older $19.99 985 97% 30k $591k (exactly $590,704) COWCAT
My Pleasure - Season 1 older $13.99 240 76% 7.2k $101k (exactly $100,728) Tasty Pics Studio, Loys
Warrior of Lust $11.99 255 79% 7.7k $92k (exactly $91,724) Aerisetta
Femtazio $9.99 304 81% 9.1k $91k (exactly $91,109) Aerisetta
Falling with Ice Phoenix! $9.99 300 92% 9.0k $90k (exactly $89,910) F Project
Maiden Cops $9.99 282 87% 8.5k $85k (exactly $84,515) Pippin Games
Immortal Hunters $19.99 95 67% 2.9k $57k (exactly $56,971) Admiral Games
Arena of Sacrifice $9.99 31 77% 930 $9.3k (exactly $9,291) Under Hill
Creepy Creepy Love $4.99 62 93% 1.9k $9.3k (exactly $9,281) BYYONI Entertainment
Espectro The Fighters Focus $8.99 15 100% 450 $4.0k (exactly $4,046) Bytteam Game Studio
生命火热 / Desperate 1 $11.99 11 100% 330 $4.0k (exactly $3,957) 痴青游戏(Lunatico Game)

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