Do I ship it?

Games › Beat 'em up › Beat 'em up + Zombies

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Zombie Beat 'em up?

Beat 'em up + Zombies

Of 32 developers who shipped a Zombie Beat 'em up 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.. 47 more are announced, ×4.3 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: dead, for a 5 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $240 in the last 2 years and $420 over 4, against a market of $630 for a 5 / 10 build. 11 developers shipped in the last year and 47 games are announced.

Deciding numbers: median 0.4 times the market baseline, revenue up 35% on the market, 47 announced, ×4.3 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Beat 'em up + Zombies
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 32
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $300 → $1.2k → $1.3k → $2.0k → $239 → $150 → $419 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Beat 'em up + Zombies: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 32
Bottom 30% $60 (exactly $60)
Median $240 (exactly $240)
Top 25% $2.5k (exactly $2,512)
Top 5% $49k (exactly $49,151)
Developers, 2 yr 32
Released games 114
Announced 47
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 35% on the market, supply 50% 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
Zombies
effort 5 / 10 · medium · effort 5 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
Beat 'em up; 4 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Action, Adventure, Action-Adventure
Price point
$4.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.

The top 10 games average 70% positive over 2,265 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $60, median $240, 1 in 4 over $2.5k, 1 in 20 over $49k.

3 in 10 developers made under $60. 9 in 10 of the 24 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 47 games are announced against 11 developers who shipped in the last year, ×4.3 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

Onee Chanbara ORIGIN 2020 · $2.2M DEAD RISING® 2016 · $1.7M Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2015 · $1.1M Onechanbara Z2: Chaos 2016 · $1.1M YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z 2014 · $816k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
Onee Chanbara ORIGIN older $59.99 1,217 75% 37k $2.2M (exactly $2,190,235) Tamsoft
DEAD RISING® older $9.99 5,751 89% 173k $1.7M (exactly $1,723,575) Capcom
Guns, Gore & Cannoli older $9.99 3,681 91% 110k $1.1M (exactly $1,103,196) Rogueside, Claeysbrothers
Onechanbara Z2: Chaos older $39.99 907 79% 27k $1.1M (exactly $1,088,128) Tamsoft
YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z older $29.99 907 64% 27k $816k (exactly $816,028) Spark Unlimited, comcept Inc., Team NIN… (Spark Unlimited, comcept Inc., Team NINJA)
Charlie Murder older $9.99 2,618 96% 79k $785k (exactly $784,615) Ska Studios
GOD FORSAKEN $13.99 1,728 67% 52k $725k (exactly $725,242) insight studio
Flynn: Son of Crimson older $19.99 370 84% 11k $222k (exactly $221,889) Studio Thunderhorse
Zombie Training Simulator older $19.99 227 92% 6.8k $136k (exactly $136,132) Acceleroto, Inc.
SiNiSistar Lite Version older $4.99 858 85% 26k $128k (exactly $128,443) Uu
Night Slashers: Remake $9.99 164 61% 4.9k $49k (exactly $49,151) Storm Trident S.A.
Chaos Faction Legacy Collection $4.99 234 93% 7.0k $35k (exactly $35,030) George "EON" Eade
Apocalypse Survivors $8.99 26 57% 780 $7.0k (exactly $7,012) The Last One
Tokyo Waning Moon $3.99 25 92% 750 $3.0k (exactly $2,992) Midnight Cupcakes
Blade Abyss $5.99 15 73% 450 $2.7k (exactly $2,696) KungFolio
Flee the fallen $4.99 18 83% 540 $2.7k (exactly $2,695) AM Playhouse
Legendary Heroes Survivors $2.99 28 85% 840 $2.5k (exactly $2,512) Last Loop Studios
SnackTimeActionGame $7.99 10 100% 300 $2.4k (exactly $2,397) Snack Box Games
Zombie Survivors $3.99 17 94% 510 $2.0k (exactly $2,035) Cube Games, Denner Bougo

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